Farnell Holds Environmental Conference in India

Premier Farnell has held a conference at the Vivekananda College in Bangalore, India on the 27th of September where Dr Thuppil Venkatesh, a professor of biochemistry at St John's Medical Centre, Bangalore, spoke on the seriousness of unregulated recycling of electronic and electrical waste. According to Premier Farnell, it has become aware of the serious issues being created in India by the recycling of electronic and electrical waste, most of which is generated in the developed countries of the west. In addition, the company has specially prepared a guide to RoHS legislation which was made available to the delegates that attend the conference.

Gary Nevison, Premier Farnell Customer Support Manager, Legislation and Environmental Affairs, discovered that "it is estimated that 50 million tons of electronic and electrical waste is produced each year, of which as much as 75 percent disappears from the lifecycle audit chain. Much of this is exported from the west and ends up being recycled in countries such as India and China."

Raw materials in electronic products are valuable - gold, copper, aluminium and other metals, but to release these, the motherboards are literally cooked over open flames, releasing arsenic, mercury, lead and other toxins. It is estimated that up to 5 million people in India, many of them children, are engaged in this harmful trade, often with little or no protection.

According to Dr Venkatesh, who is also Director of the National Centre for Lead Poisoning, 53 percent of children under 12 in India's cities have lead poisoning. This leads to brain damage and a reduced IQ.

As a first step to support Dr Venkatesh's work in raising awareness of the dangers of lead poisoning, Premier Farnell said it will provide sponsorship to train 100 teachers in India who, in turn will each run at least five workshops for 100 pupils at a time. In this way, the program will reach 50,000 children quickly and effectively. The company will also pay for a year's worth of supporting material such as posters and DVD's to raise awareness.

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