Journal of Medicine and Health Research

Electronic waste recycling sustains livelihoods and recovers valuable materials, yet informal processing can transfer a substantial fraction of the environmental and occupational costs of the digital economy to workers with limited access to engineering controls, occupational health services and social protection. This critical narrative review evaluates the evidence linking informal electronic waste work with hazardous exposures and adverse health outcomes, with emphasis on worker-specific studies rather than community exposure alone. Literature published from 1 January 2000 to 13 June 2026 was identified through accessible scholarly indexes and institutional sources, supplemented by citation searching and verification of bibliographic metadata and Digital Object Identifiers. The evidence consistently demonstrates task-related exposure to complex mixtures of metals, particulate matter, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls and other combustion- or process-derived contaminants. Biomonitoring studies, particularly from Ghana, show elevated internal doses for several toxicants, while studies from Bangladesh, Nigeria, Thailand, Chile and Hong Kong broaden the geographic evidence. The most defensible health conclusions concern frequent injuries, musculoskeletal symptoms, eye and skin complaints, and measurable occupational exposure. Evidence for respiratory impairment is increasingly suggestive, supported by recent worker studies, but remains sensitive to study design and comparator selection. Cardiovascular autonomic changes, renal and hepatic alterations, endocrine disruption, neurobehavioural symptoms and epigenetic biomarkers are biologically plausible and sometimes associated with exposure, yet causal inference remains limited by cross-sectional designs, mixed tasks, background contamination, exposure misclassification and residual confounding. Formalisation and personal protective equipment alone cannot be assumed to eliminate risk. Prevention requires source control, safer processing, task redesign, hygiene, appropriate respiratory protection, exposure and health surveillance, and governance that does not remove livelihoods without viable alternatives. Future research should prioritise longitudinal, task-resolved, mixture-aware studies and intervention evaluations capable of distinguishing exposure reduction from displacement of risk.