Lead and Mercury in the Home: Indian Children Face Irreversible Neurodevelopmental Harm from Family E-Waste Work

Millions of Indian families run informal e-waste recycling from their homes, exposing children and pregnant women to lead and mercury at concentrations that impair fetal and early childhood brain development. The WHO documents heightened vulnerability in these populations, yet India's 2022 e-waste regulations exclude informal workers from safety requirements. The overlap of domestic and workplace renders children's exposure unavoidable and largely unmonitored.