Lagos State Government, yesterday raised concern that  dangerous substances from imported fairly used electronics now find their way into water sources, causing serious health problems to the state and people.

Lagos Commissioner for the Environment, Dr Muiz Banire, who spoke at the unveiling of the Eko e-Waste Summit 2010 logo, jointly organised by the Lagos Environmental Protection Agency, LASEPA, the Environment Law Research Institute, ELRI and the Basel Convention Coordinating Centre for the Africa Region, BCCC-Nigeria, noted that imported fairly used electronics were actually discarded items that could be hazardous to the environment and people, adding that  it was unfortunate that Nigerians bring in electronic goods with exhausted life spans from other countries, such of which  pose serious health problems.

“It’s a situation of double jeopardy because we are bringing into our country what have been rejected. The so called tokumbo (fairly used) electronics come with dangerous substances. Apart from the fact that most of them end up in the dump sites, they percolate into our water system. You see people dig boreholes without any form of treatment. Some of the dangerous substances end up in the lagoon and lakes, yet we keep consuming the fishes from them.

“So you see people having respiratory tracts diseases and other ailments that lead to untimely death and we don’t know what the source of the problem is. This is certainly not unconnected with the way we pollute our environment knowingly and unintentionally,” Banire said.

The Director-General, National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency, NESREA, Dr. Ngeri Benebo in his address on the occasion, said the agency had once considered complete banning of electronic wastes, but had a rethink due to the economic implications.

“Bearing in mind the other social and economic aspects of sustainable development, NESREA has been looking at other ways to manage the problem of electronic waste. It is necessary to said that e-wastes should not be regarded as ‘of no economic value.’ Though they contain hazardous substances, they also contain precious metals such as gold, silver, copper, palladium and other useful products,” he said

The summit’s coordinator and environmental expert, Dr Lanre Fagbohungbe, said at the end of the event, there would be a statement named “Eko Declaration on e-Waste” on how best to deal with electronic waste in Nigeria and elsewhere.