In this section, I will outline a particular case that demonstrates the harmful effects of electronic waste.  Agbogbloshie, is a district near Accra, in Ghana.  It is known for being one of the largest e-waste sites in the world.  Ghana receives 215,000 tons of second-hand consumer electronics from overseas annually (Feldt et al., 2013).  Many of these items are reconditioned to be sold, but the remaining items are recycled, putting workers at high risk of danger.

Cables are often burned to extract the copper from inside, and this process results in serious safety issues.  Other metals, such as lead, migrate through the smoke produced by burning, and the metal also contaminates the soil (Bernhardt & Gysi, 2013).  Toxic chemicals have also been known to contaminate the water, lowering its quality.

This pollution has a number of health risks for those living in or near Agbogbloshie.  Feldt et al. (2013) investigated urinary PAH levels in e-waste recycling workers in Agbogbloshie.  PAH is a toxic compound that has been found to increase the risk of a number of illnesses.  The study found that those working at the e-waste site had significantly higher exposure to PAH, and they had a higher than normal prevalence of respiratory conditions.  Two thirds of workers stated that they were suffering from a cough, and 25.3% complained of chest pain.

The experiences of workers at Agbogbloshie demonstrate the importance of tackling the issue of e-waste recycling.  Because of the massive volume of electronic goods that are not formally recycled, many electronic goods end up in informal e-waste sites in developing countries, causing health and environmental problems for the local people.  It is vital to investigate how human behaviour leads to these disastrous consequences, in order to understand how changes can be made to promote conservation.