Exporting an electronic wasteland.

• Position: ENVIRONMENT

Much of the used computer equipment sent from the U.S. to developing countries is unusable and creates an environmental hazard, according to a report by the Basel Action Network (BAN), a Seattle-based environmental group. BAN says that U.S. recycling companies donate or sell old equipment to poor countries to avoid paying for proper disposal. Nigeria alone gets about 400,000 computers a month; up to 75 percent are unusable. The computers, which contain lead, mercury, and other toxic materials, wired up in...