India’s e-waste output jumps 8 times in 7 yrs

Mumbai Tops List Of Cities With Maximum Generation

Thiruvananthapuram: India's output of e-waste has jumped by eight times in the past seven years and the open yet illegal incineration of massive quantities of such trash may lead to serious public health hazards, a government report says. 

    According to the latest annual report of the Union ministry of environment and forest (MoEF), by the end of 2012, India would have generated a whopping eight lakh tonnes of e-waste—up eight times in the past seven years. Environmentalists point out that an additional 50,000 tonnes is imported from developed countries despite a ban. 

    "The burning of metals can give rise to dioxins and furans during incineration. Arsenic and asbestos may act as a catalyst to increase the formation of dioxins, which is carcinogenic in nature," the report says. 

    E-waste includes household electronic appliances, toys, electrical and electronic tools, medical devices, mobile phones, monitoring and control instruments, automatic dispensers, IT and telecom equipment and consumer electronic items. 

    Mumbai tops the list of 10 most e-waste generating cities, followed by Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pune, Surat and Nagpur. 

    A state-wise break up shows that of the total e-waste generated in the country, 70% comes from 10 states — Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, West Bengal, Delhi, Karnataka, MP and Punjab. 

    "E-waste contains minerals that are both toxic and valuable to the industry. Heavy metals like lead, cadmium, mercury, brominated flame retardant, arsenic and nickel are harmful to the environment and pose grave health hazards," the MoEF report said. 

    Last year, the ministry notified the E-Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011, making producers "responsible for environmentally sound management of the end-of-life products, including collection and recycling of the products".

Contamination in water double this year: Tests

PROBLEM WORSE IN RURAL AREAS

Pune: Tests conducted by the State Public Health Laboratory (SPHL) on thousands of samples of water collected from various sources in 35 districts of the state show largescale contamination. The contamination level in Mumbai stood at 8% as against the mere 4% in February last year. 

    Microbial contamination—both bacterial and viral—which can pose a serious threat to human health was seen in most samples found unfit. Such contamination can cause a number of waterborne diseases such as cholera, typhoid, hepatitis, and infectious gastrointestinal diseases. 

    In Mumbai, 8% of the 4,618 water samples tested were found unfit for drinking as against last year's 4% samples, tested during the same period. In rural parts of Pune, 421 (11%) of the 3,809 samples were found unfit for consumption as against 9% last year. Pune's city limits, which till recently maintained zero contamination, reported slight deterioration in its quality this time. 

    A significant percentage of the samples in the city areas of Jalgaon, Nagpur and Gondia and rural parts of Aurangabad, Parbhani, Nanded and Hingoli were found unfit for drinking, the report states. "The data is representative. However, it gives us a fair idea of water contamination level in urban and rural parts of Maharashtra," V G Jaybhay, chief technical officer of SPHL, told TOI on Monday. 

    Jaybhay, however, maintained that the situation is not that grim in Pune and Mumbai as compared with the state's other parts. Usually, contamination crossing 20% in rural parts and 10% in city areas is considered as worrying where instant measures need to be taken, he added. 

    R P Dongre, senior scientific officer of SPHL, said, "Samples were analyzed for microbial and chemical contamination. But as cities have more water treatment plants, the level of contamination is not that high as in rural parts."