Rotten eggs: e-waste from Europe poisons Ghana’s food chain
Toxins from old computers, fridges and other electronic goods are polluting chicken eggs in an area where 80,000 people live
Some of the most hazardous chemicals on Earth are entering the food chain in Ghana from illegally disposed electronic waste coming from Europe.
According to a new report by two environmental groups tracking the disposal of e-waste, chicken eggs from the Agbogbloshie slum in Ghana’s capital, Accra – where residents break up waste to recover metals – contain dangerous levels of dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), among other harmful substances.