---
license: cc-by-4.0
task_categories:
- tabular-classification
language:
- en
tags:
- environmental-health
- e-waste
- recycling
- heavy-metals
- occupational-health
- respiratory
- synthetic
- sub-saharan-africa
pretty_name: E-Waste Recycling & Occupational Health (SSA)
size_categories:
- 10K<n<100K
configs:
- config_name: mega_site_west_africa
  data_files: data/ewaste_mega_site.csv
  default: true
- config_name: medium_site_urban
  data_files: data/ewaste_medium_urban.csv
- config_name: small_dispersed_sites
  data_files: data/ewaste_small_dispersed.csv
data_type: synthetic
---

> ⚠️ **Synthetic dataset** — Parameterized from published SSA literature, not real observations. Not suitable for empirical analysis or policy inference.

# E-Waste Recycling & Occupational Health in Sub-Saharan Africa

## Abstract

Synthetic dataset modelling health outcomes among informal e-waste recyclers and nearby communities across three site-scale scenarios in SSA. Agbogbloshie, Ghana — the world's largest informal e-waste site — exemplifies the exposure: open burning of cables and plastics releases lead, cadmium, chromium, PAHs, dioxins, and brominated flame retardants. Workers and children face respiratory damage, heavy metal poisoning, dermal injuries, and DNA damage with virtually no PPE or health surveillance.

### Scenarios

- **Mega-Site West Africa**: Agbogbloshie-type large-scale informal site with ~215,000 tonnes/yr throughput.
- **Medium Site Urban**: Lagos/Nairobi-type medium urban recycling markets.
- **Small Dispersed Sites**: Smaller city informal operations with lower but widespread exposure.

## Parameterization Evidence

| Parameter | Value | Source | Year |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Agbogbloshie = world's largest informal e-waste site | Site context | Pure Earth / Blacksmith Institute | 2013 |
| Ghana imports ~215,000 tonnes secondhand electronics/yr | Volume | worstpolluted.org | 2019 |
| Workers exposed to Pb, Cd, Cr, Ni, Hg (biomonitoring) | Metals | PubMed 27858271 (Agbogbloshie pilot) | 2017 |
| Elevated blood metals in workers vs controls | Biomarkers | PMC8287752 | 2021 |
| Respiratory symptoms & reduced FEV1 in burning workers | Respiratory | PMC7084368 | 2020 |
| Children near sites: elevated BLL, DNA damage | Child health | PMC8392572 | 2021 |
| No PPE/environmental protection in informal recycling | Safety gap | ScienceDirect (Agbogbloshie Pb study) | 2024 |
| Most SSA countries lack e-waste legislation | Regulation | ScienceDirect (SSA e-waste review) | 2025 |

## Validation

![Validation Report](validation_report.png)

The 8-panel validation report covers: blood lead distributions, respiratory outcomes, elevated biomarker prevalence, worker role distributions, processing methods, PPE/safety practices, dermal/ocular outcomes, and DNA damage/kidney/child developmental effects.

## Usage

```python
from datasets import load_dataset
ds = load_dataset("electricsheepafrica/ewaste-recycling-health", "mega_site_west_africa")
```

## Limitations

- Synthetic data; not for clinical decision-making.
- Metal biomarker levels modelled as log-normal approximations.
- Does not capture mixture toxicity or synergistic effects of co-exposures.
- PPE rates are conservative estimates from limited field studies.

## References

1. Pure Earth / Blacksmith Institute. World's Worst Pollution Problems: Agbogbloshie. 2013.
2. Srigboh RK, et al. Multiple elemental exposures amongst workers at Agbogbloshie. *Chemosphere*, 2016.
3. Takyi SA, et al. Biomonitoring of metals in blood and urine of e-waste recyclers. *Chemosphere*, 2021.
4. Ohajinwa CM, et al. Health risks associated with informal e-waste recycling in Africa. *IJERPH*, 2022.
5. Heacock M, et al. E-waste and harm to vulnerable populations. *EHP*, 2016.
6. Akormedi M, et al. E-waste in Africa: a serious threat to health of children. *IJERPH*, 2021.

## Citation

```bibtex
@dataset{electricsheepafrica_ewaste_recycling_health_2025,
  title={E-Waste Recycling and Occupational Health in Sub-Saharan Africa},
  author={Electric Sheep Africa},
  year={2025},
  publisher={HuggingFace},
  url={https://huggingface.co/datasets/electricsheepafrica/ewaste-recycling-health}
}
```

## License

CC-BY-4.0