Title: How E-waste Works | HowStuffWorks
Headings: How E-waste Works
How E-waste Works
E-waste Dangers
E-waste Regulations
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle E-waste
E-waste Excellence
Citation

Content: ­
Photo courtesy Basel Action Network 2006
At present, we're just beginning to realize how serious those consequences are. Long-term exposure to small doses of toxins is less understood than the effects of those toxins in larger doses. In all likelihood, it's dangerous to spend your days touching fragments of toxic metals like lead and mercury. Common sense implies that inhaling the fumes from flame-retardant chemicals and highly corrosive acids isn't a good idea. And dumping byproducts of this recycling process into drinking-water sources can't be good for anyone. The upshot is people have begun taking notice of these conditions, and several initiatives to protect the environment and human health have gained traction recently. Governments from around the world are passing regulations to curtail e-waste, and an increasing number of industrial improvements pop up every day. On the next page, we'll look at what exactly is in e-waste that makes it so hazardous and why your old toaster isn't trying to kill you (well, at least not on purpose). Advertisement
Contents
E-waste Dangers
E-waste Regulations
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle E-waste
E-waste Dangers
A man in Guiyu, China, heats a combination of nitric and hydrochloric acid, while inhaling acid fumes, chlorine and sulfur dioxide, without respiratory protection. Leftover acids and sludge are dumped in the river.