Greenpeace says electronic industry 'not so clean', India

New Delhi, Feb 9 (UNI) Hazardous waste resulting from the electronic industry is leading to the contamination of groundwater aquifers, says a Greenpeace study, sounding a warning for India which is fast becoming a preferred destination for manufacture of electronic goods.

The study found a number of sites in China, Mexico, the Philippines and Thailand, particularly around semiconductor manufacturers, with toxic chlorinated volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) and toxic metals including nickel, had become unfit for drawing any water.

The situation is worrying in view of the fact that local communities in many places use groundwater for drinking purposes.

One sample contained tetrachloroethene at nine times above the WHO guidance values for exposure limits and 70 times the US Environmental Protection Agency maximum contaminant level for drinking water.

Elevated levels of metals, particularly copper, nickel and zinc, were also found in groundwater samples in some sites. The use of such toxic chemicals in manufacturing processes also poses potential health risks to workers through exposure.

Analysis of samples taken from industrial estates reveals the release of hazardous chemicals in each of the three sectors investigated: printed wiring board (PWB) manufacture, semiconductor chip manufacture and component assembly.

Most noteworthy was the discovery at the majority of sites investigated of highly toxic polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), a group of brominated chemicals used as flame retardants, and of phthalates, chemicals used in a wide range of processes and materials "Our findings of contamination arising during the manufacturing stage make it clear that the "clean" image needs to be investigated before it is too late" , said Dr. Kevin Brigden from the Greenpeace Research Laboratories The electronics industry is truly global with individual components manufactured at specialised facilities around the world, often involving highly resource and chemical intensive processes.

These processes generate hazardous wastes, the fate and effects of which are still very poorly documented.

India needs special caution because it is now witnessing an explosive consumption of electronic goods and equipment, and is on its way to becoming the destination of choice for electronics manufacturing, Greenpeace said.

According to a recent Frost and Sullivan study, the consumption of electronic equipment in the country would rise to 3 billion by 2015 from .2 billion in 2005 at a compound annual growth rate of 29.8 per cent.

The Indian electronics equipment production grew at 25 per cent in 2005 and is expected to reach a growth rate of 50 per cent in 2010.

''It is time the IT Ministry in India realised its responsibility to regulate the toxic impact of this industry hand in hand with promoting its growth", said Vinuta Gopal, Toxics Campaigner, Greenpeace India .

UNI