Moradabad's e-waste dismantling and recycling industry has severely polluted the Ramganga river, finds a new CSE study
“Fifty per cent of all pcbs used in India end up in Moradabad. The city gets about nine tonnes of e-waste each day,”says Deepak Agarwal,Moradabad's district magistrate.
Charu Gangwar, a researcher working on ewaste at Moradabad’s Institute of Foreign Trade and Management (iftm) University, says that all e-waste recycling activities along the ghats of the Ramganga release gases,acid solutions,toxic smoke and ash.These contain heavy metals which are dangerous to the environment and can cause serious ailments,including cancer.Chemicals from e-waste can also pass through the ground and contaminate the soil and groundwater,she adds.
“High levels of mercury and arsenic can lead to chronic poisoning. Tests to detect such poisoning are usually expensive and
Precious metals are extracted from circuit boards by treating them with acid. This is done along the Ramganga, contaminating the water