Electronic waste or e-waste is one of the rapidly growing
problems of the world. It is estimated that 20-50 million tons
of electric and electronic waste is generated per year of
which 75-80% is shipped to countries in Asia and Africa for
recycling and disposal. In these countries recycling of e-
* Corresponding author:
cyril_720@yahoo.com (Ehi-Eromosele C.O.)
Published online at http://journal.sapub.org/re
Copyright © 2012 Scientific & Academic Publishing. All Rights Reserved
waste is performed with limited and often no environmental
or worker health precautions. Activities at these sites often
pose harmful threats in the form of soil pollution leading to
contaminated water and food as well as air contaminants
affecting the health of the workers and children at these
sites[5].
While over 80 per cent of the world's high-tech wastes
lands up in land-fills in Asia and Africa, Nigeria is emerging
as one of the top dumping grounds for toxic, chemical and
electronic waste from the developed world[6]. According to
the Basel Action Network (BAN), a Seattle-based environmental
group, an estimated 500 shipping containers with a
load equal in volume to 400,000 computer monitors or
175,000 large TV sets enter Lagos, Nigeria each month. As
much as 75 percent of such shipments are classified as
e-waste[7]. The recycling, parts salvaging, distribution and
the disposal of these discarded electronic devices are now
creating a new set of environmental and public health challenges
in Nigeria.
Dust is a significant environmental media that can provide
information about the level, distribution, and fate of contaminants
present in the surface environment. As the composition
of settled dust is similar to atmospheric suspended
particulates, it can be an indicator of pollutants such as heavy
metal contamination in the atmosphere