Role of Information Technology On Human Health: Assignment

Assignment
Role of Information Technology on

Human Health
Course- Env5101
Juthika Afneen Ema
ID: 2053221034
Introduction
Digital Government relies on information technology, which is not a dry inert

material. Instead, information technologies are political and their design can favor
certain actions, values, or groups of people (Friedman, 1997). This ability of
information technologies to influence or regulate behavior affecting fundamental
societal issues, such as privacy, has been widely acknowledged in policy circles.
(Lessig, 1999). Present day information era has given lots of freedoms to the
citizens, which was not probable without the arrival of this age. The users of
Information Systems have willingly available information. Rapid technology
change, low initial cost, high obsolescence rate have resulted in a growing problem
around the world. E-waste is the most rapidly growing waste problem. It is a toxic
ingredient, poisoning a threat to the occupational health as well as the
environment.
Technology
The use of the term "technology" has changed significantly over the last 200 years.
Before the 20th century, the term was uncommon in English, and it was used either
to refer to the description or study of the useful arts (Crabb and George, 1823) or to
allude to technical education, as in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
(Mannix et al, 2005)
Technology comes from the Greek word ‘techne’ which means art, skill, cunning
of hand"; and -logia (Liddell,1980), is the sum of techniques, skills, methods,
and processes used in the production of goods or services or in the accomplishment
of objectives, such as scientific investigation. Technology can be the knowledge of
techniques, processes, and the like, or it can be embedded in machines to allow for
operation without detailed knowledge of their workings.
Information Technology
The term information technology was coined by the Harvard Business Review, in
order to make a distinction between purpose-built machines designed to perform a
limited scope of functions and general-purpose computing machines that could be
programmed for various tasks. As the IT industry evolved from the mid-20th
century, computing capability advanced while device cost and energy consumption
fell lower, a cycle that continues today when new technologies emerge. IT can also
refer to the architectures, methodologies and regulations governing the use and
storage of data.
Characteristics
1. Several different information systems can exist in one organization.

2. A particular information system may be composed of several separate
information systems.
3. Information systems are connected by means of electronic networks.
4. Inter-organizational information systems involve information flow in two or
more organizations.
5. An enterprise wide system or Inter-organizational information systems is
composed of large and small computers and hardware connected by different
types of networks.
Electronic Waste
Electronic waste or e-waste is a collective name to all electronic devices which

have been expired of their useful life period like discarded computers, computer
peripherals, mobile phones, televisions, and others (Kowsar, R., et al, 2010). With
the development of the electronic industry and information technology, a large
amount of waste electric and electronic equipment (20-50 million tons per year) is
being continually generated worldwide, and has become a serious problem of
environmental protection as well as a risk of human health (Duan et al, 2009;
Wang et al 2013). Each year between 20–50 million tons of e-waste is generated
worldwide, 100,000 tons of which is exported from UK shores. (Yang et al, 2011).
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that only 15–20% of e-waste is
recycled, the rest of these electronics go directly into landfills and incinerators
(Sthiannopkao, 2013). Recycling and disposal of e-waste may involve significant
risk to health of workers and their communities (Sakar, 2016).
Some components can be reused in assembling new computer products, while

others are reduced to metals that can be reused in applications as varied as
construction, flatware, and jewellery. Substances found in large quantities
include epoxy resins, fiberglass, PCBs, PVC, thermosetting plastics, lead, tin,
copper, silicon, beryllium, carbon, iron, and aluminium. Elements found in small
amounts include cadmium, mercury, and thallium. Elements found in trace
amounts include americium, antimony, arsenic, barium, bismuth, boron, cobalt,
europium, gallium, germanium, gold, indium, lithium, manganese, nickel, niobium,
palladium, platinum, rhodium, ruthenium, selenium, silver, tantalum, terbium,
thorium, titanium, vanadium, and yttrium. Almost all electronics contain lead and
tin (as solder) and copper (as wire and printed circuit board tracks), though the use
of lead-free solder is now spreading rapidly.
Health Effects of e-waste
E-waste has increased the total waste volume and after dismantling, it releases
various toxic and carcinogenic gases and metals which are posing a threat to
human health and also contaminate the environment. (Kowsar, R., et al, 2010).
1. Due to the crude recycling process, many pollutants, such as persistent organic
pollutants and heavy metals, are released from e-waste, which can easily
accumulate in the human body through the inhalation of contaminated air.
2. E-waste poses as an issue for air pollution due to many of the methods used in
processing E-waste. This is primarily due to the two methods used to process E-
waste known as open-air burning and combustion. Open-air burning is used to
retrieve valuable metals from the E-waste, however, leads to atmospheric
release of many harmful chemicals. The combustion of E-waste releases small
particles of caustic chemicals, which can then get inhaled.
3. Research from the National Institute of Health provides information of the
effects of several chemicals on the human body. Chemicals such as lead,
mercury, and cadmium can cause damage to the entire nervous system,
genitourinary system (the combined urinary and reproductive system), fetal
development,
4. Many of the substances found in E-waste also have the potential to cause
damage to the DNA of humans and other organisms, which may lead to genetic
mutations.
5. It can lead to toxic buildup in bodily organs, such as the kidneys.
6. Open burning of printed wiring boards increases the concentration of dioxins in
the surrounding areas. These toxins cause an increased risk of cancer if inhaled
by e-waste workers and local residents.
7. Toxic metals and poison can also enter the bloodstream during the manual
extraction and collection of tiny quantities of precious metals, and workers are
continuously exposed to poisonous chemicals and fumes of highly concentrated
acids. Recovering resalable copper by burning insulated wires causes
neurological disorders, and acute exposure to cadmium, found in
semiconductors and chip resistors, can damage the kidneys and liver and cause
bone loss.
8. Children are considered to be at the greatest risk for health concerns due to the
exposure from chemicals from E-waste. In developing countries child labor is
often used to help process the E-waste. In these positions, children often sift
through E-waste and look for components, dismantle E-waste, aid in processing
the E-waste, in addition to many more duties, which greatly exposes children to
the harmful chemicals found in E-waste and detrimentally affect their growth
and development.
Conclusion
The field of information technology has been increasing rapidly with an explosion
of some applications and new avenues that are opening along with an active role in
the field of education, planning, and management of health and environment.
Information technology has been playing a significant role in the areas of
biometrics, genome sequencing, gene engineering, online medical transcription,
maintaining the DTA database for the betterment of human health, biotechnology,
etc. But the large quantities have been generated has created many problems
related to human health and environment. Thus there is urgent need for proper
management of this waste and efficient ways to recycle and suitable places of
dumping so that it may not contaminate the underground water and soil. Therefore,
there is an urgent need to make people aware of the hazards created by it so that
toxic effects of e-waste can be avoided.
References
1. Crabb, George. 1823. Universal Technological Dictionary, or Familiar

Explanation of the Terms Used in All Arts and Sciences. London: Baldwin,
Cradock, and Joy. p. 524 – via Internet Archive.
2. Duan, H., Eugster, M., Hischier, R., Streicher-Porte, M., Li j. 2009. Life Cycle
Assessment Study of a Chinese Desktop Personal Computer. Sci. Total
Environ 407, 1755-1764.
3. Friedman, B. 1997. Human Values and the Design of Computer Technology.
CLSI Publications, Stanford, CA.
4. Kowsar,R., Hashia, H., and Khan, F. 2010. e-waste and Its Health Impacts.
Global Journal of Human Social Science. Vol.10 Issue 4(Ver 1.0).
5. Lessig, L.1999. Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace. Basic Books, New York.
6. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert (1980). A Greek-English Lexicon
(Abridged Edition). United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-
19-910207-5.
7. Mannix, Loretta H.; Stratton, Julius Adams. 2005. Mind and Hand: The Birth
of MIT. Cambridge: MIT Press. pp. 190–92. ISBN 978-0-262-19524-9.
8. Sakar, Anne. 2016. "Dad brought home lead, kids got sick". The Cincinnati
Enquirer. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
9. Sthiannopkao, Suthipong; Wong, Ming Hung. 2013. "Handling e-waste in
developed and developing countries: Initiatives, practices, and
consequences". Science of the Total Environment. 463–464: 1147–1153.
10.Yang, F., Jin, S., Xu, Y., & Lu, Y. 2011. Comparisons of IL-8, ROS and p53
responses in human lung epithelial cells exposed to two extracts of PM2.5
collected from an e-waste recycling area, China. Environmental Research
Letters, 6(2), 024013. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/6/2/024013
11. Wang, F., Huisman, J., Stevels, A., Balde, C. P. 201. Enhancing e-waste
estimates: Improving data quality by multivariate input-output analysis. Waste
Manag. 33, 2397-2407.

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Assignment

Role of Information Technology on

Juthika Afneen Ema

Digital Government relies on information technology, which is not a dry inert

1. Several different information systems can exist in one organization.

Electronic waste or e-waste is a collective name to all electronic devices which

Some components can be reused in assembling new computer products, while

Health Effects of e-waste

1. Crabb, George. 1823. Universal Technological Dictionary, or Familiar

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