A strict new EPA standard on lead pollution here in the
United States has made domestic recycling more difficult and expensive, but
does not prohibit companies from exporting the recycling process to countries
where standards are low and enforcement is lax. As of this year, 20 percent of
spent American vehicle and industrial batteries are now exported to Mexico, up
from 6 percent in 2007. This trend poses many dangers to Mexican laborers,
children and entire communities. The dangers occur in the recycling process
itself. When the batteries are broken for recycling, the lead is released as
dust and as lead-laced emissions during melting. In the United States this
process is undertaken in sealed, highly mechanized plants where the smokestacks
are fitted with filters and the surrounding area is monitored for lead levels. In
contrast, in many parts of Mexico, batteries are broken by men using hammers and the smokestacks vent
to the air outside where lead particles are free to drift off and end up
anywhere from schoolyards to local neighborhoods and food carts. Lead levels in
soil samples taken from a town’s elementary school have been found to be five
times the limit for children’s play areas in the U.S.
What can and should be done about this apparent inequality?
Some American companies are committed to reducing lead exposure and only send
batteries to countries with standards as strict as the U.S. Other companies
that are currently recycling in Mexico say they intend to bring their Mexican
plants up to American standards, however, the EPA does not inspect or verify
facilities in Mexico so there can be no assurance this will happen.
American companies are shipping hazardous waste to countries
that are ill-equipped to process it safely. As a result, children are
underdeveloped and cancer rates are higher. But it cannot be proven since
official testing has not been done because there is no funding for such a
project in Mexico. These actions by American companies are currently legal and
so a strong case for institutionalized environmental racism can be made here.
Some companies and organizations are working to change the system and construct
new laws, but the extent of the problem is daunting. How can justice be found?
The U.S. should require all exported batteries be dismantled and recycled in facilities that meet our E.P.A. standards for lead pollution. We cannot blame Mexico, recycling is a viable source of employment for developing nations that needs support in meeting the health and safety standards for labor and environment. Besides, Mexico is making efforts to combat the problem, including the 200 border agents they trained this year to detect illegal shipments of "batteries and other electronic waste." Of course, lead from batteries is not the only environmental/occupational health hazard posed by sub-par recycling, there is mercury, americium, cadmium, sulfur, BFR's and beryllium oxide to name a few. And Mexico is not the only country being affected: China, India, Nigeria, Ghana, and Haiti are just a handful of other countries caught in this mess. this electronic waste toxicity is serious, and as environmentally conscious people have reduced their use of wood-pulp paper, the electronic gadgets (iPads, computers,cell phones, ebooks, and nooks)that have substituted our more classic writing surfaces are evidently much harder to recycle. I think with Mexico the answer could be more obvious, if the U.S. refocused its border policy and resources away from the immigration issue and the drug war that is currently ravaging Mexico we might have ample money to bring these Mexican recycling facilities up to par with the new E.P.A. standards.
ReplyDeleteThis goes very well with the other article on e-waste and e-recycling in Africa.
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