Socio-economic assessment and feasibility study on - Öko-Institut eV

98
August 2010
<strong>Socio</strong>-<strong>economic</strong> <strong>assessment</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>feasibility</strong> <strong>study</strong>
on sustainable e-waste management in Ghana
Production processes & technologies
Give a description of the applied technologies <strong>and</strong> processes used in the enterprise. Also
describe the type of tools <strong>and</strong> machines used for these processes. Include information on
implemented health protection measures.
Example: The repair of mobile phones is carried out with quite simple tools like screwdrivers <strong>and</strong>
soldering irons. For most repairs, workers have to exchange <strong>and</strong> load the battery, clean the
contacts, the display <strong>and</strong> the housing with cleaning liquid <strong>and</strong> partly exchange some electronic
components by unsoldering the damaged parts <strong>and</strong> putting in new components. For health
protection, the management offers respiration masks. Because of the hot indoor temperature, most
workers do not like the masks <strong>and</strong> work without them.
Health & safety issues
List <strong>and</strong> describe obvious health <strong>and</strong> safety risks from the carried out operations. See Annex
II for a rough checklist to identify possible health <strong>and</strong> safety risks. In addition, check on other
less specific risks (e.g. accident risks from heavy machinery, risks from poorly maintained
electricity wiring). Try to elaborate on possible health problems that workers might blame on
their professional activities.
Example: Health <strong>and</strong> safety risks might stem from the soldering operations. As the workers are bowed
over their repair desks, they frequently inhale the fumes from the soldering operations. One worker
claimed that – after a long day of soldering operations – he feels a stabbing pain in his lungs.