For a generation already the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (SVTC) has been calling attention to the environmental cost of the high-tech production boom. Through a combination of research and activism they have monitored the eco-friendliness of major computer manufacturers and endeavored to track the environmental impact of toxins used in electronics manufacturing. Their computer report card
published in 2005 revealed that few companies worldwide, and proportionately even fewer stateside assume serious responsibility for the massive amounts of toxic chemicals that their products regularly unleash on the world. Of particular concern to the SCTC for some time now is the exploitation of foreign workers who are exposed to toxins in unsafe conditions, particularly those who refurbish damaged parts in India and China.
A recent investigation by the General Accountability Office (GAO ) of the US government has demonstrated, alarmingly that there is good cause for concern. In keeping with the general truculence of the Bush administration regarding international environmental protocols, the US was the only notable holdout among Industrialized nations on a 1989 agreement obligating exporting countries to disclose hazardous waste shipments to the recipient nations. Nevertheless , in an effort to police such abuses internally the EPA is meant to enforce a US law requiring EPA approval of all international shipments of CRTs (cathode ray tubes- which contain copper and lead) .
So how is that working out? The GAO had its agents pose as foreign buyers of broken CRTs in Hong Kong, India, Pakistan and other countries which house facilities to recondition these products inexpensively for resale in the US and other industrialized countries. These countries were selected for the lack of oversight on working conditions and the high likelihood that workers in contact with the chemicals in the CRTs would not be protected from their toxic effects. More to the point, the shipments should not have been able to go through without EPA approval and the companies ought to have been highly solicitous of gaining this approval for fear of the repercussions of breaking a federal law. In the event, 43 US companies pursued the shady deals without hesitation, at no time did the EPA insinuate itself into the process. When confronted with these facts the EPA responded “We are not convinced that developing a regulatory scheme to address these issues is the most appropriate course of action.”
Ultimately the responsibility falls upon citizens and consumers to demand that corporations respect environmental standards and the safety and dignity of foreign workers. Corporations will undoubtedly self-regulate, as the EPA hopes, if market pressures force them to accede to certain expectations and modify their behavior. At the same time it behooves every customer of electronic equipment, particularly after market goods, to concern himself with the origins of that equipment and the processes involved in bringing it into his hands. Only through greater awareness of the conduct of these companies both at home and abroad will long term change ever be effected.
Source: http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Green-IT/GAO-EWaste-Largely-Unregulated/
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By Steven Adams
Product Content Manager for UsedCisco.com
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