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Olivia Yung

Ms. Ly

CGC-1D0- I

May. 13, 2014

Electronic Waste and China

The disposal of electronic waste must occur within Canada instead of sending it to China,
particularly Guiyu, because of environmental issues, health problems to the people of China, and
causing governmental issues by breaking laws in China.
Guiyu is the second most polluted place on Earth. The water in the small town of Guiyu
has lead levels that are 2400 times above the World Health Organization's Drinking Water
Guidelines (Krischner). It is so acidic, it can disintegrate a penny. The high lead levels in the
water causes stunted growth and premature aging to plants and animals which lead to an
earlier death (Walters). The lead has destroyed a whole ecosystem and organisms can no
longer live in it. Air pollution is another also a big environmental issue in Guiyu. Through
evaporation, Tthe water gets contaminated with the toxic fumes in the air through
evaporation. Not only that, but pPlants are being watered with contaminated water. They
need oxygen to perform cellular respiration but the air in Guiyu is so toxic that the plants
can’t even do thataren’t even able to do it that/it idk what you want here. This leads to the dying
out of ecosystems in Guiyu dying out and the organisms that have once lived in them. There
is are no longer any natural ecosystems in Guiyu. There are no other animals other than a
the few dogs living there. Once a prosperous rice farming village, surprisingly enough, Guiyu
has now become an electronic graveyard. Surprisingly though, Guiyu was once a prosperous rice
farming village. What it has become now is an electronic graveyard. The soil is now too
contaminated with chemicals and heavy metals to plant anything in. Greenpeace took
samples of soil from a nearby duck pond in Guiyu and tested itfor testing and discovered.
Discoveries of elevated levels of flame retardant were found within the soil (Walters). Once
again, a whole ecosystem has been destroyed due to the e-waste. This has also destroyed
many food chains and ecosystems in Guiyu; which is another reason why there are no animals
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living in Guiyuthere. All the burning and dumping of e-waste has wiped out many
populations of animals. If this contin ->this is weirdues, the people in Guiyu will start to die.
Due to all the air and water pollution, the people of Guiyu have some major health
problems. Every time a breath is taken, a burning sensation is felt in the eyes, nose, and
throat (Lee). A study has shown that every 50 in 1001 out of 2 people have respiratory
problems;. Most of these people that have respiratory problems are children (Lee). Children
are more vulnerable to getting them because a child’s immune system isof their generally
weaker immune system. All the children that have respiratory problems generallymostly
have parents that make a living out of burning circuit boards, which is and that is what
causes these problems (Lee)it. These cCircuit boards release toxic fumes into the air and
these people usually work at home, around their family. Not only that, but Rrespiratory
diseases such as asthma could worsen in an environment like Guiyu. A person may not even
be able to breathe in such conditions. Nevertheless, Rrespiratory problems are not the only
thing impacting the inhabitants of Guiyu. In November 2003, Shantou’s Medical University
Hospital found a high number of people in Guiyu with skin damage, vertigo, and gastric
ulcers (Lee). The people of Guiyu know that their water is toxic and yet they still continue to
wash their clothes and food in it. This is causing a substantial amount of health problems to
the people. All these skin diseases come from contact with lead and other heavy metals
when burning e-waste. People don’t care about skin diseases muchThe citizens aren’t very
aware of the effects of skin diseases, so they don’t put much thought into them. They don’t
realize they could die from itthe deadliness of their jobs and as they just want to make money
and support their family. Children that are 6 or younger have blood lead levels that are
over 10 g/dL which is considered elevated by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control
(Krischner). Children get reduced growth and slowed cognitive development. High levels in
children will impact a child's IQ and affect their central nervous system development
(O'Hanlon). Children will not be able to lead to a normal life with all the chaos happening
around them.
Both Tthe exporting of e-waste to China is illegal and importing of e-waste from Canada
areis illegal and yet it is both are still happening. The Chinese government has even signed
the Basel Convention, which is a law in whichstating that China cannot import e-waste.
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Other countries will soon begin to bring this up and it will cause a huge disturbance in
countries around the world. Since Even though China signed the Basel Convention,
something has to be done to reinforce that law because currently, the import of e-waste is
still happening. It may not be a good thing for China because most inhabitants make a
living out of taking apart e-waste but it must be done . Ias it is the right thing to do.
In conclusion, Canada should be taking care of their own e-waste and cleaning up after
themselves instead of sending all the dirty work to China. Sending something out of sight
and out of mind doesn’t mean it won’t come back to hit you later. It’s just like if someone
was at a friend’s house, they wouldn’t just throw their garbage everywhere.