The Birth Of Agbogbloshie's Pollution

Agbogbloshie, in Accra, Ghana, was a centre for informal e-waste recycling until its demolition in 2021. The site was nicknamed after a commercial district on the Korle Lagoon of the Odaw River. Agbogbloshie became a destination for externally generated automobile and electronic scrap, mostly from the Western world. The dumping and processing of electronic waste contaminated the air, land, and water in the entire area. The burning of plastic-coated copper wires released toxic chemicals, such as lead, mercury, arsenic, and dioxins, into the surrounding environment. These pollutants severely impacted the health of workers and the local population, with toxins found in food sources such as chicken eggs.

Agbogbloshie: A centre for informal e-waste recycling

Agbogbloshie, in Accra, Ghana, was a centre for informal e-waste recycling until its demolition in 2021. It was the second-largest e-waste processing area in West Africa, with millions of tons of e-waste processed each year. The site was known for its environmental dumping of electronic waste from industrialised nations, particularly the Western world.

The dumping and processing of electronic waste in Agbogbloshie severely contaminated the air, land, and water in the entire area. The burning of plastic-coated copper wires and cables released toxic chemicals, including heavy metals like lead, mercury, arsenic, and cadmium, into the ground, water, and atmosphere. These poisons seeped into the surrounding soil and water, polluting the landscape and posing serious health risks to workers and the local population. Samples taken from Agbogbloshie indicated lead levels as high as 18,125 parts per million, far exceeding safe standards.

The site attracted economic migrants from northern and rural parts of Ghana, who lived and worked among the waste. The work provided job opportunities and a source of income, despite the associated stigma and health risks. The German government has funded new e-waste facilities at Agbogbloshie, offering training in safer recycling practices and providing community amenities such as a hospital and a football pitch.

Agbogbloshie's reputation as a "digital dumping ground" or "e-hell on earth" has been a subject of intense media scrutiny. Dramatic photographs of the site have drawn attention to the indiscriminate dumping of e-waste in Ghana by Western countries. However, the complex and organised nature of the informal e-waste recycling sector has often been overlooked, and the site's demolition has been criticised as a government land grab.

Overall, Agbogbloshie represented a significant centre for informal e-waste recycling, with far-reaching environmental and health impacts, but also provided economic opportunities for local communities. Efforts are now being made to improve recycling practices and mitigate the negative consequences of e-waste dumping in the area.

Burning of plastic-coated wires

Agbogbloshie, in Accra, Ghana, is the second-largest e-waste processing area in West Africa. It is nicknamed a "digital dumping ground" by the Basel Action Network, an NGO based in Seattle. Ghana annually imports around 215,000 tons of second-hand consumer electronics, primarily from Western Europe, and generates another 129,000 tons of e-waste every year.

The Agbogbloshie scrap metal site is Ghana's largest centre for electronic waste (e-waste) recycling and disposal. Workers manually disassemble parts and burn off the plastic encasements on computer wires and refrigerator coils to recover valuable metals, especially copper. The burning of plastic-coated wires releases toxic chemicals into the ground, water, and atmosphere. Poisons such as lead, mercury, arsenic, dioxins, furans, and brominated flame retardants seep into the surrounding soil and water, severely polluting the landscape.

The fastest, cheapest, and most favoured way to recycle copper from insulated wire is to burn it. Workers often burn plastic-coated wires in the open, using Styrofoam packaging as fuel. These cables contain heavy metals like lead, which can migrate from the smoke into the soil and public areas, including homes, food markets, and other public spaces. Samples taken from around Agbogbloshie indicate lead levels as high as 18,125 parts per million, far exceeding the US EPA standard of 400 ppm.

The burning of plastic-coated wires poses significant health risks to workers and the local community. The fumes released from burning plastics and metals contain highly toxic chemicals and carcinogens, including lead, cadmium, dioxins, furans, phthalates, and brominated flame retardants. In addition to respiratory diseases, workers are at risk of overexposure to lead and other heavy metals. The black smoke that continuously hovers over the site affects not only the workers but also those living and working nearby.

Efforts have been made to address the pollution caused by the burning of plastic-coated wires in Agbogbloshie. In 2010, hand wire-stripping tools were introduced, but burning remained the preferred method due to its speed and cost-effectiveness. More recently, organisations like Pure Earth and Green Advocacy Ghana have piloted technologies to aid recyclers in replacing the burning process. They have installed automated wire-stripping machines that eliminate air pollution and centralised recycling, reducing widespread communal exposure to toxins. Additionally, comprehensive health and occupational safety trainings have been implemented to build the capacity of workers and community members to reduce the risk of heavy metal exposure.

Air, land, and water pollution

Agbogbloshie, in Accra, Ghana, is the second-largest e-waste processing area in West Africa. The site has become a destination for externally generated automobile and electronic scrap collected from mostly the Western world. Agbogbloshie was a commercial district on the Korle Lagoon of the Odaw River, near the centre of Accra, before it was demolished by the Ghanaian government in 2021.

The dumping and processing of electronic waste in Agbogbloshie severely contaminated the air, land, and water in the entire area. When e-waste is broken down, burned, and processed, toxic chemicals are released into the ground, water, and atmosphere. Poisons such as lead, mercury, arsenic, dioxins, furans, and brominated flame retardants seep into the surrounding soil and water, thereby seriously polluting the landscape.

Air pollution:

The fumes released from the burning of plastics and metals used in electronics are composed of highly toxic chemicals and carcinogens. Workers often inhale lead, cadmium, dioxins, furans, phthalates, and brominated flame retardants. Black smoke continuously hovers over the site, resulting from piles of copper cables that are lit to burn off the plastic coatings. Old car tires are also added to the flames, creating a toxic environment.

Land pollution:

Heavy metals released in the burning process easily migrate into homes, food markets, and other public areas. Samples taken around Agbogbloshie found lead levels as high as 18,125 ppm in the soil. The US EPA standard for lead in soil is 400 ppm. Another set of samples taken from five workers on the site found aluminum, copper, iron, and lead levels above ACGIH TLV guidelines.

Water pollution:

Photographs from the Agbogbloshie e-waste landfill show scrap workers burning wires from auto harnesses and plastic-encased electronics to recover copper. Greenpeace laboratory tests showed that water and soil from areas in Agbogbloshie had concentrations of chemicals at levels over a hundred times greater than the allowable amounts. The Korle Lagoon, on which Agbogbloshie is situated, had extremely low levels of dissolved oxygen, a result of the large and uncontrolled quantities of dumped e-waste.

Health risks of toxic metals

Agbogbloshie, a former commercial district in Accra, Ghana, was once a centre for informal e-waste recycling. The site was nicknamed the "digital dumping ground" by the Basel Action Network, an NGO based in Seattle. The area was severely polluted by the dumping and processing of electronic waste, which contaminated the air, land, and water.

The health risks associated with toxic metal exposure at the Agbogbloshie e-waste site and its surrounding neighbourhood have been extensively studied. These studies have found that the burning and dismantling of electronic waste have led to the release and enrichment of potentially toxic metals in the soil, including arsenic, cadmium, copper, nickel, lead, antimony, and zinc. These metals have been found at concentrations exceeding international environmental soil quality guidelines.

The risks associated with incidental ingestion of soil-borne metal contaminants and inhalation of smoke and dust particles containing these metals are very high. Inhalation of fumes released from burning plastics and metals used in electronics poses a serious health threat to workers, as these fumes contain highly toxic chemicals and carcinogens such as lead, cadmium, dioxins, furans, phthalates, and brominated flame retardants.

Studies have also found dangerous levels of toxic chemicals in chicken eggs from Agbogbloshie, including chlorinated dioxins, which can cause cancer and damage the immune system. Nearly 80,000 inhabitants living in and around the area were affected by these toxins in their food.

In addition to the direct health risks posed by toxic metal exposure, the pollution from e-waste recycling has also contaminated the Korle Lagoon, on which Agbogbloshie is situated. The lagoon has extremely low levels of dissolved oxygen due to the uncontrolled dumping of waste.

Efforts to improve sanitation

Agbogbloshie, in Accra, Ghana, is the second-largest e-waste processing area in West Africa. The dumping and processing of electronic waste in Agbogbloshie have severely contaminated the air, land, and water in the entire area. Several studies have confirmed high levels of heavy metals, such as lead, in the soil, with particular risks to workers and children.

Piloting Technologies to Replace Burning

Since 2008, the Blacksmith Institute and Green Advocacy Ghana (GreenAd) have been working to introduce alternative technologies to replace the burning of e-waste, which is a major source of air pollution and heavy metal exposure. Hand wire-stripping tools were introduced in 2010 but met with limited success as burning remained the preferred method. Currently, efforts are focused on mechanizing the wire-stripping process by creating workstations with wire-stripping machines. These machines eliminate air pollution and centralize recycling, reducing widespread communal exposure to toxins.

Health and Occupational Safety Trainings

Comprehensive health and occupational safety trainings have been implemented since 2008 to build the capacity of workers and community members to reduce the risk of heavy metal exposure. These trainings aim to educate individuals about the dangers of e-waste burning and provide them with skills to protect themselves and their community from pollution.

Environmental Advocacy and Awareness

Organizations like Greenpeace and the Basel Action Network have played a crucial role in raising awareness about the environmental and health impacts of e-waste dumping in Agbogbloshie. Greenpeace conducted laboratory tests that revealed alarming levels of chemical concentrations in the area. The Basel Action Network, a charitable NGO, has referred to Agbogbloshie as a "digital dumping ground," highlighting the magnitude of the issue.

International Cooperation and Policy Changes

There is a growing recognition of the need for international cooperation to address the e-waste problem. The cost of complying with EU regulations for discarding e-waste is estimated to be a significant factor in the dumping of electronic waste in Ghana. Avoiding these costs may result in savings of up to $658 million annually for European countries. By addressing these regulatory and economic incentives, international policies can help curb the influx of e-waste into Agbogbloshie.

Alternative Livelihood Support

Agbogbloshie is an informal settlement with a significant overlap between industrial, commercial, and residential zones. Providing alternative livelihood opportunities and improving living standards in rural and northern parts of Ghana may help reduce the influx of economic migrants to Agbogbloshie. This could alleviate the pressure on the area and give individuals other options besides working in the hazardous conditions of the e-waste industry.

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