ELECTRONIC WASTE: ITS HEALTH HAZARDS AND MANAGEMENT FOR SUSTAINABLE ERA

In a world of technological advancement and countless gadgets, the quest to acquire the latest models is overwhelming: a slimmer desktop, new music system, televisions and so on. However the downside of the constant quest for better gadgetry is the rapidly piling hazardous wastes in our landfills. Discarded electronics are generated when users or owners of the products decide that they no longer want them. E-waste encompasses ever growing range of obsolete electronic devices such as computers, servers, main frames, monitors, TVs and monitor devices, telecommunication devices such as cell phones and pagers, calculators, audio and video devices, printers, scanners, copiers and fax machines besides refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines and microwave ovens, E-waste also covers recording devices such as DVDs, CDs, floppies, tapes, printing cartridges, military electronic waste, automobile catalytic converters, electronic components such as chips, processors, mother boards, printed circuit boards, industrial electronics such as sensors, alarms, sirens, security devices, automobile electronic devices. In this manuscript impact of E-waste on health and environment, and various management strategies have been delineated.