page_title: Agbogbloshie
section_title: Pollution
hierarchical_section_title: Agbogbloshie / Pollution
caption_attribution_description: English: A young man is pictured burning electrical wires to recover copper at Agbogbloshie, Ghana, as another metal scrap worker arrives with more wires to be burned. Deutsch: Ein junger Mann brennt elektrische Drähte, um Kupfer in Agbogbloshie, Ghana, wiederzugewinnen, als ein anderer Metallschrottarbeiter mit weiteren Drähten zum Verbrennen ankommt.
context_page_description: Agbogbloshie is a nickname of a commercial district on the Korle Lagoon of the Odaw River, near the center of Accra, Ghana's capital city. Near the slum called "Old Fadama", the Agbogbloshie site became known as a destination for externally generated automobile and electronic scrap collected from mostly the western world. It was alleged to be at the center of a legal and illegal exportation network for the environmental dumping of electronic waste from industrialized nations. The Basel Action Network, a small NGO based in Seattle, has referred to Agbogbloshie as a "digital dumping ground", where they allege millions of tons of e-waste are processed each year.
  However, repeated international studies have failed to confirm the allegations, which have been labelled an "e-waste hoax" by international reuse advocate WR3A. The most exhaustive study of the trade in used electronics in Nigeria, funded by the United Nations Environment Programme and the Basel Convention, revealed that from 540 000 tonnes of informally processed waste electronics, 52% of the material was recovered.
context_section_description: The processing and dumping of electronic waste in Agbogbloshie is polluting the area and creating serious environmental concern. Photographs from the Agbogbloshie e-waste landfill show scrap workers burning wires from auto harnesses and plastic-encased electronics to recover copper. E-waste contains toxic chemicals that are emitted into the ground, water and atmosphere when the electronics are broken down, burned and processed. Poisons such as lead, mercury, arsenic, dioxins, furans, and brominated flame retardants seep into the surrounding soil and water, thereby seriously polluting the landscape. Greenpeace lab tests have shown the water and soil from areas in Agbogbloshie revealed the area contained concentrations of chemicals  at levels a hundred times more than the allowable amount.
  Several studies have confirmed high levels of lead in soil with particular risks to workers and children. Environmental lead contamination is predominantly due to burning off the plastic covering from copper wires. PVC insulation contains approximately 3000 mg/kg lead as a stiffener, and this lead is released during the burning.
  The Guardian in April 2019 reported that a study for Ipen and the Basel Action Network found dangerous levels of dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBS) in chicken eggs at Agbogbloshie.
  Lead containing glass used in computer monitors (CRT tubes) also contributes to elevated soil lead levels.
  The Korle Lagoon, on which Agbogbloshie is situated, has extremely low levels of dissolved oxygen, a result of the large and uncontrolled quantities of domestic and industrial waste being emitted into the water. Studies indicate that the entrance to the lagoon is severely polluted and not suitable for primary or secondary contact, due to the large amounts of bacteria present.
caption: A young man burning electrical wires to recover copper at Agbogbloshie, September 2019.
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