Electronic Wastes, Its Impact on Food Safety
Vaishali Soni, Vatsala Soni, M. Sharma, Dipti Bharti, Charu Arora, Richa Saxena, Richard Baker, Basem E. Kestha
Abstract
The world's production of electronic waste is growing faster than the world's population. Many chemical compounds, some known to be harmful to ecosystems and human health, are present in e-waste. Because e-waste is now the fastest-growing segment of the official municipal trash stream, disposing of it globally is causing ecological and public health concerns. E-waste workers are exposed to contact contaminants from drinking water, food, dust, and smoke, which e-waste disposal affects. Certain manufactured or agricultural items intended for export may contain pollutants linked to e-waste. E-waste management is particularly crucial in India because of the country's e-waste output and the dumping of e-waste from industrialized nations. Considering that they are responsible for a large portion of the region's e-waste production, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka might be regarded as the most problematic countries regarding plastic garbage. Hazardous effects spread more quickly when toxic chemicals, hefty metals, are released into unclean lands or waterways, endangering human health and the ecosystem. South Asia is the world's most popular destination for e-waste, even though inadequate institutional waste management systems, management, legal enforcement, local government involvement, and research and development accelerate informal practices and e-waste generation. An overview of garbage and recycling habits, current regulatory frameworks, organizations addressing the issue, and action recommendations are given in this report. The effects of food safety on the food industry will be the main topic of this chapter, followed by e-waste's potential effects on food security.