A Report on Chemical Contamination at E-Waste Sites

Toxic chemicals are leaching into soil at scrap yards in Ghana as a
result of electronic waste sent to the country from the developed
world, according to this report from Greenpeace.

The report is a project of a team from the nonprofit group, which took analyses
of soil and sediment samples from two scrap yards, one in Ghana’s capital of Accra, and one in the city of Korforidua. They found lead in quantities 100 times higher than in normal soil
samples, and the presence of phthalates, which can cause birth defects,
and chlorinated dioxins, which can cause cancer.