[kictanet] Used Computers

[aki]

Hi Harry, I'll add my last general amatuer comment on this thread,
corrections are welcome. :-)

Wikipedia can be vague sometimes. When we talk health hazards from
equipment, does it refer to radiation from CRTs? Chemicals from computers?
Many who have done anything to do with electronics will know, the most
unstable component is the Electrolyte Capacitor which is found in power
supplies, and one unique one is found on motherboards on older computers.
The rest of components, besides the main processor and memory, are sealed in
a laquer layer. Even with new computers, this is the case. Both of these
items pose problems when disposed. Importers of new equipment cannot say
that out of every 400 new computers imported, all were fine. Maybe due to
shipment, some were damaged or others had some faulty part that was not
detected during the manufacturing process, is the importer going to ship the
faulty units back? I hardly think so.

The enviromental groups will be back at square one on this one unless long
term solutions are gotten. And I think we need to remind them that a *new
computer is not a one time, once in a life time purchase nor are they any
safer to dispose.* Whether we use a computer for 2 years, then donate it to
some school, the school will have to dispose/dump it at some stage. Can
anyone on this list share information about the Main Frame Servers of the
80s and early 90s that used to occupy floor spaces? Where did they go from
Kenyan Offices, they were cannot simply cannot have decayed and turned into
dust. Kenyans have been dumping IT goods and polluting even before the used
computers arrived in the market. What has changed so significantly that the
used computers market is being veiwed as the polluter? Agreed machines like
the early pentiums have no use nor need presence in the market, therefore it
would be essential to seperate the real dumping and the genuine used
computers.

I hope Evans and the others in the industry can add more thoughts on this
but an outright ban is not the solution.

Rgds.
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