Unloading Shipping Containers in Ghana

The unloading of shipping containers full of electronic goods imported from the UK.
Many second-hand electrical goods that are imported to Ghana from developed countries are not working and beyond repair. These obsolete goods contain hazardous chemicals that are released into the environment, both in landfills and by small scale "recycling" that involves breaking and burning the goods to reclaim metals such as copper and aluminum.

Unique identifier: GP01IJM

Type: Image

Shoot date: 10/04/2008

Locations: Ghana, Tema, Western Africa

Credit line: © Greenpeace / Kate Davison

Size: 3504px × 2336px 1MB

Ranking: ★★★★ (E)

Containers

Shoot:

Toxics E-Waste Documentation in Ghana

Greenpeace visits Ghana to investigate workplace contamination from e-waste recycling and disposal in the country and uncovers evidence that e-waste is being exported, often illegally, to Ghana from Europe and the US.
The majority of second-hand electrical goods that are exported to Ghana from developed countries are beyond repair and are either dumped or "recycled" in a crude fashion.
In the yards, unprotected workers, many of them children, dismantle computers and TVs with little more then stones in search of metals that can be sold. The remaining plastic, cables and casing is either burnt or simply dumped.
Some of the samples tested by Greenpeace contained toxic metals including lead in quantities as much as one hundred times above background levels. Other chemicals such as phthalates, some of which are known to interfere with sexual reproduction, were found in most of the samples tested. One sample also contained a high level of chlorinated dioxins, known to promote cancer.
Greenpeace is campaigning to pressurize the producers of electronic goods to remove the hazardous chemicals from their goods and to become more responsible for end-of-life products.

Related Collections:

Toxics E-Waste Documentation in Ghana (photos & videos)

Conceptually similar