"The problem is old electronics, or e-waste -- computers, cellphones and other gadgets that people toss because they've found something newer and shinier.

"It's not factory waste but post-consumer waste that's coming out of your hands, my hands or anybody's hands," said Jim Puckett, director of the Basel Action Network, a Seattle-based environmental group.

The old electronics are laced with pollutants, such as lead and cadmium, that have been linked to cancer, nervous-system damage and other problems.

No one is sure how much e-waste Virginians produce. No one tracks it closely, in Virginia or nationally."

Rex Springston reports for the Richmond Times-Dispatch September 19, 2010. [2]