Hazardous substances have been reduced but not
eliminated from laptops, according to Greenpeace.
The charity says manufacturers have phased out some of the most
toxic materials over the past year but still have a long way to go
in eliminating others, such as PVC, brominated flame retardants and
phthalates.
Greenpeace investigated the issue by purchasing 18 laptops from
six different bands across 14 European countries and then sending
them off for analysis at an independent laboratory in Denmark and
the Greenpeace Research Laboratories in Exeter.
Their report, Toxic
Chemicals in Computers - Reloaded, showed bromine present in
more than 40% of components tested, at concentrations of up to 10%
by weight. Of the laptops tested,
Sony were found to have the lowest number containing bromine,
and Dell laptops had the highest number.
PVC was found in 44% of all plastic coating of wires and cables
that were tested. Phthalates were found in the power cables
supplied with all laptops, with the highest levels in those of
Acer and
HP laptops.
Legislation on hazardous substances in electrical and electronic
equipment, known as RoHS, has
recently been implemented. Computer manufacturers have
significantly reduced their use of lead, cadmium, mercury,
hexavalent chromium and certain brominated flame retardants in
response to theses changes.
"While levels of certain toxic chemicals in the laptop
components tested do not exceed current European standards, other
hazardous chemicals found in laptops are not yet covered by
European regulations," said Zeina Alhajj, Greenpeace International
toxics campaigner. "Greenpeace's goal is for computer manufacturers
to eliminate the use of toxic materials completely."
The analysis shows that, for almost every component found to
contain either bromine or plastic PVC, an equivalent component free
of these chemicals can be found in another laptop.
"In theory, by combining components from different machines, the
industry could already almost produce the first toxic-free
computer," AlHajj said. "The question is, which company is going to
be the first to go the whole way?"