Issue of U.S. Electronic Waste Exports to Guiyu, China - May 2007

Issue of U.S. Electronic Waste Exports to Guiyu, China - May 2007

According to a report by the U.S. environmental NGO, Basel Action Network (BAN), approximately 80% of discarded computers in the U.S. are exported to Asia, with around 90% ending up in China. Specifically, Guiyu City in Guangdong Province is a concentrated area for electronic waste processing, where serious environmental pollution issues have been observed. In the dismantling process, lead (Pb) is directly removed from circuit boards, while cadmium (Cd) and mercury (Hg) are processed improperly, leading to soil lead levels exceeding safety standards by over ten times. Nearby water quality tests have also detected high concentrations of heavy metals.

The annual volume of electronic waste generated in the U.S. is estimated to be around 500 million units, which could release approximately 7000000 kilograms of lead and 1320000 kilograms of cadmium. In Guiyu, blood lead levels in children significantly exceed safe limits, posing severe health risks. The U.S. remains the only OECD country not to have ratified the Basel Convention, allowing unrestricted export of e-waste. As a result, ongoing international measures are necessary to address this issue.