Recycling behind bars: prison practices blacken a green endeavor

This paper discusses the health issues concerning the computer recycling operation at the federal penitentiary in Atwater, CA. Concerned individuals including an environmental advocacy group, called the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, have expressed concern that the use of prison labor for recycling might be exploitation. They believe that the hammers used by the prison inmates for disassembly are not suitable and that they are unprotected against the dangers of shattered glass and plastic. While OSHA has made its first on-site inspection, they are lobbying for an independent review of the recycling operation at Atwater.