INTRODUCTION

Most consumers are unaware of the toxic materials in the products on which they rely for word processing, data management, and access to the Internet, as well as for electronic games. In general, computer equipment is assembled from more than 1000 materials (e.g., chlorinated and brominated substances, metals, biologically active materials, acids, plastics and plastic additives). The health impacts of the materials in the products often are not known. The production of semiconductors, printed circuit boards, disk drives, and monitors uses particularly hazardous chemicals. Cancer clusters have been reported in workers involved in chip manufacturing. In addition, computer recyclers may have high levels of dangerous chemicals in their blood.

Computers have a short life span because hardware and software companies constantly generate new programs that fuel the demand for more speed and memory. Today, it is frequently cheaper and more convenient to buy a new computer to accommodate the newer generations of technology than it is to upgrade the old.

The following statistics indicate why the United States has a big computer solid waste problem:

• Computer solid waste is growing at an escalating rate, and consumers do not know what to do with it. It has been estimated that over three-quarters of all computers ever bought in the United States are currently stored in attics, basements, and closets (MCTC, 1996). If everyone disposed of these, the United States would face a huge waste problem all at once.

• A recent U.S. study...