OLUBANJO KEHINDE

Overview of Presentation Background Information Health Environmental Impacts of E-Waste Current Practices in Nigeria

Background Information The production of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) is one of the fastest growing global manufacturing activities. Rapid economic growth, coupled with urbanisation and a growing demand for consumer goods has increased both the consumption and production of EEE. According to the 2006 population Census, Nigeria has a population of over 140 million people. There has been a phenomenal growth in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector in Nigeria since the introduction of digital mobile technology in Presently, greater number of Nigerians have access to mobile phones, Mobile phones are the most common communication equipment and are highly dispersed among all income classes.

The annual GSM subscription increased from about 9.1million subscribers in 2004 to a whopping million subscribers in 2014 (Table 1). A difference of over 175.6million annual GSM subscribers was observed over a ten year period From Table 1, an average of 13.3 million new subscriber was witnessed between 2002 and Technical/planned and aesthetic obsolescence of mobile phones are very high in Nigeria, because a significant number of mobile phones in use are second-hand phones A situation where a new product in the market has a nicer look or more fashionable design from the point of view of the consumer (aesthetic obsolescence) results in consumers replacing the plastic housing of their mobile phones to make them look “new”, and for the consumers that could afford to buy such phones go ahead to buy them, hence an individual having two or more phones.

AESTHETIC OBSOLESCENCE DUE TO CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR?

More Nigerians today have access to computer facilities at home, school, business centres and cybercafés. These access depend to a large extent on second- hand/refurbished computer sets, printers, photocopiers etc. Used PCs can be obtained for as low as 30% of the cost of a new product of similar brand. Internet use is becoming increasing more popular in Nigerian cities, thus necessitating the spread of commercial cybercafés nationwide. Even though internet connectivity has been enhanced by mobile phone network operators through the use of GPRS (General Packet Radio Service), cybercafés are so popular that there is at least two privately-owned and operated cyber café in every major streets in most Nigerian cities (Kolawole, 2008).

The annual number of internet users increased from about 1.7 million in year 2004 to over 67 million users in 2014 (Table 2). An increase of over 65 million internet users was witnessed over a ten year period An average of over 4.7 million new internet users were witnessed between 2001 and 2014.

THE STRUCTURE OF THE COLLECTION, REPAIR/REFURBISHING AND E-WASTE RECYCLING SECTOR IN NIGERIA In Nigeria there is a well-organised repair and refurbishing sector focusing on used equipment either from imports or from domestic sources such as businesses and households. The sector is stratified into various sub-sectors, according to the types of equipment repaired and refurbished (e.g. computing equipment, TVs, mobile phones etc). There are two major refurbishing clusters – The Ikeja Computer Village and the Alaba International Market both located in Lagos. Together, these two markets feature about 5,500 small enterprises with around 15,000 technicians and sales personnel with workers having a comparably high education and most of them going through a sector- specific apprenticeship system lasting between two and five years.

They have achieved a high level of professionalism and gained regional importance by supplying refurbished equipment not only to Nigerian households, but also to other West and Central African countries. The refurbishing sector produces significant amount of e-waste, as often old devices are used as sources of spare parts and later discarded. Many of these enterprises are registered with local authorities and pay taxes to local and regional administrators. The refurbishing sector operates partly under formal conditions.

The collection and recycling of e- waste is almost exclusively carried out by non-registered individuals widely referred to as “scavengers”. Informal collection and recycling is mostly carried out by poor migrants from the rural areas in the northern part of the country, where populations have few alternatives to small-scale agriculture and rainfall variability causes food shortages. The collectors use handcarts and go from household to household (or shops to shops within the market) to collect metal containing wastes, and pay a little amount of money for each device.. The collected materials then taken to the scrap metal market where they are dismantled to recover materials such as steel, aluminium and copper.

For these migrants, the scrap metal collection business is one of the few economic activities that can be taken up without prior training or investment. It enables rapid and regular access to cash, as the revenues from a day’s work immediately materialises when the recycling products are sold to one of the local middlemen. These materials are then collected and sold either directly to local industries – steel plants, aluminium smelters or to traders who organise bulk sales to domestic or international refineries.. Materials of no market value are disposed of in uncontrolled conditions or burned to reduce volumes.

Health and Environmental Impacts of E-waste They disrupt endocrine systems including the oestrogen, androgen, thyroid hormone, retinoid and corticosteroid systems, inhibits the human androgen hormone reception and its ability to mimic natural oestrogen hormones, leading to altered sexual development in some organisms. They damage both male and female reproductive systems, interfering with the development of the testes, a reduction in semen production and quality, abnormal sperm morphology, low egg hatchability and reduced fertility rates. They damage the central nervous system and blood system, leading to depression and neurotoxicity, immune system suppression and the inhibition of a key blood cell enzyme. They damage the brain, causing swelling; the liver, inducing liver necrosis; the kidneys, including renal toxicity; the thyroid; pancreas; lymph nodes; spleen and bone, including bone toxicity. They lead to hypertension, cardiovascular and heart disease and respiratory tract irritation, including irritation of the nose, mouth and eyes. They cause vomiting, headaches, dizziness and nausea.

e-waste sourcesConstituentsHealth effects Printed circuit boards and computer monitors Lead Causes damage to the nervous system, circulatory system, and kidney. Also affects brain development in children Chip resistors and semiconductorsCadmiumCauses neural damage Relays and switches, and printed circuit boards Mercury Causes chronic damage to the brain, respiratory and skin disorders Cabling and computer housingPlastics and PVC Affect reproductive system and immune system, and lead to hormonal disorder Electronic equipment and circuit boards Brominated flame retardantsDisrupt endocrine system functions Front panels of CRTsBarium, phosphor, and heavy metals Causes muscle weakness and damage to heart, liver, and spleen MotherboardBerylliumCarcinogenic in nature causing skin diseases E-waste sources and their health effects

Challenges in current E-waste management Practices in Nigeria Major environmental and human health impacts result from dismantling, material recovery and final disposal through release of hazardous substances into soil, water and air Impacts during collection, refurbishment and repair of EEE are less significant Cable burning is a major source of dioxin emissions  Environmental monitoring have provided scientific evidence of gross contamination of soil, ground water, surface water and sediments with heavy metals such as lead, nickel, mercury and BFRs at levels higher than threshold limits established in developed countries.

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