The worldwide scale of mobile phone ownership is staggering. There are more than four billion mobile phone users worldwide (1) . That figure will reach six billion by 2013, just four years from now (2).

Here in Australia, over 21 million of us use mobile phones. The lure of fashionable phones with sophisticated features has consumers demanding better, efficient phones and manufacturers are introducing new models at a staggering rate. With such extensive mobile use, it's no wonder that between 20 and 50 million tons of electronic waste are produced each year - enough to load a train that would stretch around the world (3). Imagine the damage that electronic waste is causing to the natural environment.

The rapid growth and redundancy of mobile phones represents a major challenge to human health and the environment. To discover the unseen impacts of mobile phones on the environment explore the link below.

Even in small amounts, hazardous chemicals inside mobile phones can cause environmental contamination because like plastic bags and styrofoam, they cannot be easily broken down and can stay in the environment for an indefinite amount of time.

These are the substances inside your mobile and what they can initiate (4):

Brominated flame retardants

• Used to prevent fires occurring within mobiles yet highly flammable themselves.
• Hormone disruptors and can cause cancer and complications in pregnancy.
• Can trigger learning disabilities and behaviour problems.
• Banned substance in some European countries.

  Source:

• Poisonous heavy metal substance known to cause lung and prostate cancer.
• Toxic to the gastrointestinal tract, kidneys, respiratory, cardiovascular and hormonal systems.
• The 7^th most dangerous substance known to mankind.