Unseen Comprehension Passages

Unseen Comprehension Passages  Set I – [06]

Electronic waste is the waste generated from used electronic devices and household appliances such as discarded computers, cellular phones, refrigerators, air conditioners. It contain toxic heavy metals such as mercury, nickel, lead and cadmium which can cause diseases like cancer, brain tumours, paralysis, infertility and nerve disorders. With a deluge of new gadgets and latest technology being launched every day, the discarding rate of electronic devices has gone up drastically.

Read the story of Ram a 12 year old boy and answer the questions that follow:

Ram works in Seelampur market. His job is to take out metal from the old electronic wires using harmful chemicals. He sells the metal for money in the evening and burns away the left over plastic waste or dumps it in the landfill sites He has never gone to school. He is suffering from respiratory disorders and has burn marks all over his body because of working with harmful chemicals. This king of recycling of old electronic appliances which small children like Ram are doing is called “informal recycling” of electronic waste in a safe manner. But unfortunately in India, 95% of recycling happens in the informal sectors.

1. What do you understand by electronic waste? How is it generated?
2. Name (any three) toxic metals present in electronic waste and the diseases caused by them.
3. Does informal recycling of electronic waste promote child labour? How?
4. Are we as consumers promoting information recycling in markets like Seelampur?
5. Is Ram causing any harm to the environment by burning the plastic waste or dumping it in a landfill site? Justify your answer.

Think and Answer:

1. Can you imagine your life without any of the electronic appliances that have?
2. If we stop using all the electronic appliance will it solve the problem of e waste?
3. Why do we purchase a new electronic appliance when the old when is still working fine?
4. Can e-waste decompose on their own with time?
5. Should we make new things using e-waste by recycling them? Why?