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Why Should You Protect the Environment?
E-waste or electronic waste is the #1 recycling problem in America today. This is due in large part to:
* Proliferation of electronic products
* Increasingly short life spans for these products
* Toxic components
* Lack of industry standards for end of life processing
Recycle: Reducing the Cost to Human Health
Recycling should be the first choice for raw material procurement. It is a little known fact that mining and burning of e-waste produces large amounts of toxics. Superior Computer Recycling is working to keep e-waste out of land fills and incinerators. The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), EPA reports show the Mining Industry:
* Released 1.3 billion pounds of toxics in 2002.
* Released 2,681,256 pounds alone of cyanide in 2001
* Accounts for 88% of all reported mercury releases in the U.S.
* 4.3 million pounds of mercury were put into our air, water and soil in 2001
* Totals 27% of all toxics released by U.S. Industry overall
Arsenic
Arsenic is a naturally occurring element, when disturbed it may be released in the air or water. Arsenic contamination is closely associated with lead smelting. Breathing Arsenic may give you a sore throat or irritated lungs. Ingesting large amounts of inorganic arsenic can cause death.
Cyanide
Cyanide solutions readily form soluble bonds with gold and silver rendering them easier to mine. Cyanide exposure in high levels for a short time harms the brain and heart and can even cause coma and death. Workers who inhaled low levels of hydrogen cyanide over a period of years experienced breathing problems, chest pain, vomiting, blood changes, headaches and enlargement of the thyroid gland. Cyanide in gas form is highly toxic to cells, it is the killing agent used in gas chambers. Cyanide is also released in the combustion of certain plastics.
Mercury
Ingested mercury is almost completely absorbed into the blood and distributed to all tissues including the brain and readily passes through the placenta into the fetus. Mercury is linked to learning disorders,
behavioral difficulties, lower IQ and a host of other illnesses.
Lead
Lead is inherently risky to extract. Lead can affect almost every organ and system in the body, the central nervous system is the most sensitive, especially in children.
Lead damages kidneys and the reproductive system and may cause anemia. At high levels, lead may
decrease reaction time, cause weakness in fingers, wrists or ankles, and possibly affect the memory.
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