Those old servers, computers, and TVs have to go somewhere. Unfortunately, they don't always find their way to a recycling center like the one pictured above. Instead, they usually end up in parts of the world that are ill equipped to handle the release of toxic substances when those devices are dismantled.

National Geographic investigated the situation for its January 2008 issue and they found scenes that would evoke utter outrage here in the U.S. Take, for example, these salvagers in Accra, Ghana, for whom health and environmental concerns take a back seat to making a living.

Mensah and his partners—friends and family, including two shoeless boys raptly listening to us talk—buy a few computers or TVs. They break copper yokes off picture tubes, littering the ground with shards containing lead, a neurotoxin, and cadmium, a carcinogen that damages lungs and kidneys. They strip resalable parts such as drives and memory chips. Then they rip out wiring and burn the plastic. He sells copper stripped from one scrap load to buy another. The key to making money is speed, not safety. "The gas goes to your nose and you feel something in your head," Mensah says, knocking his fist against the back of his skull for effect. "Then you get sick in your head and your chest." Nearby, hulls of broken monitors float in the lagoon. Tomorrow the rain will wash them into the ocean.

Catch the rest of the article here and be sure to give the accompanying gallery a look.

[via The Post - Ohio University]