Risk Assessment: Australian E-Waste Impact on African Dumps

This report conducts a risk assessment of Australian e-waste being dumped in Accra, Ghana, highlighting the severe health risks faced by children due to toxic chemicals released during improper recycling practices. Utilizing the Environmental Health Risk Management Framework, the assessment identifies issues such as illegal e-waste exports, unsafe recycling methods, child labor, and the volatilization of hazardous chemicals. The qualitative risk assessment categorizes these issues as high risk, emphasizing the dangers to children's health, the environment, and the perpetuation of an illegal cycle. The report evaluates the dose-response and exposure levels, concluding with recommendations for stricter monitoring, implementation of safer recycling practices, and international cooperation to address the growing e-waste problem and protect vulnerable populations. Desklib provides access to similar solved assignments and past papers for further study.

Australian E-Waste Ending Up in Toxic African Dump 0
Title: Australian E-Waste Ending Up in Toxic African Dump
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Australian E-Waste Ending Up in Toxic African Dump 1
Executive Summary
The increase in the e-waste is growing with a rapid speed and the management of recycling this
waste is not being conducted in an appropriate manner, hence, there are a number of risks that
are emerging due to it. The Australian e-waste has been increasing every year and their e-waste
is being dumped in the capital of Ghana that is Accra. This has led to a number of hazardous
diseases which the children of Accra are facing, due to the practicing of impromptu ways for
recycling the waste. In this assignment, a risk assessment is conducted on this issue and the
Environmental Health Risk Management Framework has been utilized.

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Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Background – Why the Need for Risk Assessment.........................................................................3
Risk Management Method...............................................................................................................6
Evaluating the Risk Assessment Information................................................................................10
Recommendations..........................................................................................................................11
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................12
References......................................................................................................................................13
Image References.......................................................................................................................16

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Introduction
Risk assessment is the process of identifying hazards that can have a negative impact on
the working of an organization. Risk assessment can be also be performed on the emerging
environmental issues by using the application of Environmental Health Risk Assessment
framework. In recent years, there has been an increase in the amount of e-waste, especially in the
developed countries. The easiest target for the developed countries is to dump their e-waste in
other nations that are less developed. According to the reports of the United Nations, the easy
target for the developed countries, to dump their e-waste are the poorer nations. The same has
been witnessed in Australia who has been transferring its waste to a poor nation like Africa.
Today’s new technology is tomorrow’s electronic waste. The capital of the African country
Ghana is Accra, this place has the world’s worst dump that is Agbogbloshie. A popular place for
many countries to dump their waste with more than five hundred containers of waste imported
into this place. This is where Australia also dumps most of its waste affecting the health of
people, majorly children who are employed here due to the reason of cheap labor.
Background – Why the Need for Risk Assessment
Australia is a country that consumes a large volume of electronic products every year.
This addition of new electronics and gadgets transforms to 600,000 tons of electronic waste
every year. In Accra’s Agbogbloshie dump, every month more than three containers of e-waste is
brought from Australia. The computers and other e-waste that are broken and are a piece of
garbage, are all hazardous waste and cannot be shipped out to another country, as it is illegal
(Bansah, 2016). The dump has maximum employees as kids, many ranging from the age of 5-10
years. The children are exposed to the burning of this e-waste that emits a number of toxic which
results in life-threatening diseases. This is due to being directly exposed to harmful elements like

Australian E-Waste Ending Up in Toxic African Dump 4
cadmium, lead, chromium, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), brominated flame retardants. The
inhaling of these toxic fumes is the biggest health hazard for both the adults and the children in
such environment. Also, a huge number of children go missing from this dump from time to
time. Thus, a risk assessment has to be conducted to bring a control on this entire situation
(Davis, 2012).
Image source: (www.abc.net.au)
The children have a developing immune system and thus they are more vulnerable and can
easily suffer from major health risks. The toxic from the e-waste affects the functioning of their
body by weakening their nervous system, digestive system and the reproductive system. The
various chemicals that are present in the e-waste can affect the children in the following ways-

Australian E-Waste Ending Up in Toxic African Dump 5
 The brominated flame retardants are difficult to destroy that are an important component
of plastic casings and the circuit boards. The children can suffer from impaired learning
due to long exposure to this toxin. Also, this toxin has an impact on the estrogen and
thyroid hormone system (Davis, 2014).
 The computer monitors have a cathode ray tube that has a huge amount of lead in it. This
can damage the children’s nervous system and the blood. Also, it weakens the
reproductive system in adults.
 The rechargeable computer battery contains cadmium that affects the bones and the
kidneys of children.
 The various advancement in the lighting devices is very fascinating, but it contains
mercury, which is responsible for damaging the brain and the central part of the nervous
system in children.
 The chromium that is utilized in the manufacturing of metal housing is a very toxic
chemical and can be carcinogenic to children (Davis & Herat, 2009).

Australian E-Waste Ending Up in Toxic African Dump 6
Image source: (www.abc.net.au)
These toxic chemicals have an immense effect on the health of the children. According to an
environmental report of Ghana, Mike Anane, the chemicals have such a huge effect on the
children that many of them would not be alive for their 20th birthday (Anane, 2017). This it is
very important to conduct an environmental risk assessment on this problem.
Risk Management Method
The Environmental Health Research Assessment framework has provided five steps for the
risk assessment that create a systematic approach to the risk assessment and helps in recognizing
the root cause of the issue in a more simplified manner. In analyzing the problem of e-waste
dump in Ghana and its effect on the children’s health. There are also two methods for assessing
the risk management. They are qualitative risk assessment and quantitative risk assessment. In

Australian E-Waste Ending Up in Toxic African Dump 7
this case, the qualitative risk assessment has been undertaken (Golev, Schmeda-Lopez, Smart,
Corder & McFarland, 2016). The qualitative risk assessment categorizes the various issues and
the activities into high, medium and low, which will be most appropriate for the issue of e-waste,
to know the range of the risk. Also, the e-waste being exported to another country is an illegal
method and there is no specific tracking device to know what waste is legal and what is illegal,
as many of the exported waste is transferred under the label of working equipment. So, the
qualitative risk assessment is appropriate for this case.
 Identification of Issues
There are issues in the e-waste management from the initial stage till the last
stage. The first issue is that this is an illegal practice and it is being performed largely in
Australia. The root cause of this is the huge accumulation of e-waste that happens due to
the new replacements. Australia has to get rid of this waste and thus dumping it in Ghana
is the best option (Hla & Roberts, 2015). The second issue is the improper treatment that
is conducted on the e-waste by burning. The third issue is the utilization of children for
cheap labor that is unethical and the people who are getting the most damaged in this
entire process. The fourth issue is the volatilization of some very dangerous toxic
chemicals that result in life-threatening diseases (Ignjatovic, Djurdjevac-Ignjatovic,
Ljubojev & Zlatanovic, 2015). According to the qualitative method of risk assessment, all
these issues will be categorized as high, as it is a vicious cycle that is continuously going
on with no alteration that will help the environment or the children.

Australian E-Waste Ending Up in Toxic African Dump 8
Image Source: (www.greencitizen.com)
 Hazard Identification
Element Affect Intensity
Brominated flame
retardants
Learning disabilities High
Lead Nervous system High
Cadmium Kidneys & Bones Medium
Mercury Brain Medium
Chromium Cancer Medium
The above table lists the different chemicals that are a huge part of the e-waste. All this
affect the children who are employed in the dumping area due to cheap labor. These
chemicals affect the children in different ways, attacking the different functioning systems of

Australian E-Waste Ending Up in Toxic African Dump 9
their body. It happens due to the direct contact to the e-waste and becoming a part of the
treatment that is conducted on the e-waste. The children are at high risk, their health is in
danger which will have a massive effect on their future too. The children in the dumping area
regularly have open sores and have major skin diseases too. According to the qualitative risk
assessment, the children’s lives are at a higher risk (Irianti, 2016).
 Dose-response Assessment
This stage of the risk assessment framework quantitates the hazard assessment
that was recognized in the step before. This stage helps in determining the relationship
between the dose and the incidence that have an effect on the humans. In this case, this
will help in knowing the effect of the hazard in terms of high dose or low dose (Jafaru et
al., 2015).
Incidence Dose
Burning High Dose
Leaching High Dose
Dismantling Low Dose
 Exposure
The children are in direct exposure to all the treatment that is performed on the e-
waste as they are part of it. For the other children who do not work in the dump are also
getting affected due to the polluted environment that is filled with toxic gases that are the
result of burning and leaching process (Nduka Ojeh, 2017). The exposure has different
patterns which are continuous, intermittent, random, cyclic and concentrated. The level of
exposure of the children in the e-waste treatment is-

Australian E-Waste Ending Up in Toxic African Dump 10
Exposure Intensity
Continuous High
Intermittent Low
Random Medium
Cyclic High
Concentrated Low
 Risk Characterization
The main risks that have been identified in this case are the damage of children’s
health, an illegal process that is working in a vicious cycle and the increasing amount of
e-waste in Australia and in the dumping area of Accra (Ndur, Amegbey, Agyeman &
Frempong, 2011). These risks can be further categorized qualitatively as-
Risk Characterization
Damage to children’s health high
Illegal vicious cycle high
High rate of increase in e-waste high
Evaluating the Risk Assessment Information
The information that has been acquired from the qualitative risk assessment method,
provides some shocking information that raises many concerns for the environment of Ghana
and the increasing problems due to the increasing e-waste (Nnorom, Osibanjo, Okechukwu,
Nkwachukwu & R.C, 2010). This is a known fact that the e-waste will increase with the addition
of a new technology or an invention in the world. It is an interrelated process in which with the
increase in technology the e-waste will increase and this is a continuous process that will never
end. The addition of new technology cannot be controlled and thus the growing increase in the e-

Australian E-Waste Ending Up in Toxic African Dump 11
waste is impossible to control. The effect on the children have been signified as high danger and
the components that are the main cause of this danger are emitted majorly in high, volumes
affecting the environment and the children. According to Vijay N. Bishnoi, the e-waste majorly
consists of elements that are very dangerous for human lives as many of them makes lowland gas
which is explosive (Bishnoi, 2014). Also, in the opinion of Nukpezah & Okine, the e-waste have
increased the level of polybrominated diphenyl ethers and the polychlorinated biphenyl in the
breast milk that is due to the informal activities that are conducted for the recycling activities
(Nukpezah & Okine, 2014). Thus, the risk assessment provides proofs of high danger in Accra
both to the children and the environment.
Image source: (cdn.newsapi.com)
Recommendations
There is an urgent need of actions that have to be seriously implemented and monitoring
regularly, to control the growing problems of e-waste.

Australian E-Waste Ending Up in Toxic African Dump 12
 There is a need for a device to monitor and control the transfer of illegal e-waste to
Ghana.
This is important for the children of Ghana as this will reduce the dumping of e-waste.
 There is a serious need for using equipment that helps in controlling pollution. There
should be a separate are for dismantling CRT and also many other elements that are a part
of e-waste.
 The recycling of the waste should be done with methods that help in reducing pollution
and the emission of toxic chemicals should be appropriately handled. Burning and
leaching should be performed properly (Huang, 2017).
 The hazardous waste that is obtained from the recycling process should be stored in
different containers and should be left open that they contaminate the soil, air and water.
 There is an urgent need in Accra to build a modern recycling plant, in which every
activity will be performed under the guidance of experts who have the knowledge of
proper treatments for the e-waste.
 For the reason of cheap labor, the children should be employed in the dumping area and
there is a need for building stricter rule to control this problem.
 There is a need for creating a high standard of occupational safety and there is also a need
for using better health equipment during the process of recycling waste.

Australian E-Waste Ending Up in Toxic African Dump 13
Image Source: (rnichols2015.files.wordpress.com)
Conclusion
The country Ghana is in a critical state where there is an urgent need for controlling the
hazardous effects of e-waste on the environment and the children. The growing percentage of
children who are affected by skin diseases, weaker immune system, open sores and many other
problems, is increasing with at a rapid speed. The government has to implement some
regulations that prohibit children from the dumping area and also for the functioning of the
dumping area, as it is very important for the environment too. There is also a huge need of
reusing the gadgets that have hit their end life. Instead of completely rejecting them there is a
need for utilizing them in different ways to reduce the amount of e-waste. Even the defective
products should be utilized in various ways. In many countries, the e-waste is also used to make
bizarre art pieces, the people of Ghana should come up with such creative ways to use the e-
waste.

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