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Toxic chemicals worm in Apple's iPhone core
5:00AM Thursday October 25, 2007
By Geoffrey Lean

Apple's best-selling iPhone may be forced to carry an official health warning after being found to contain toxic chemicals.

The discovery could threaten the expected worldwide sweep of the device, whose US sales topped one million in just 2 1/2 months. It is not yet officially available in New Zealand, although hackers have found ways to connect it to local phone networks.

The California company, which touts its green "leadership", was last week notified that it is in violation of its home state's law. It must respond within 60 days.

If found to be in breach it could either have to rebuild the phone, eliminating the toxins from the much-marketed product, or attach a warning label to it.

The iPhone, billed as revolutionising the mobile phone, combines three devices in one; a phone, a video player and a mobile internet device. But Greenpeace bought an iPhone in the US in June and had 18 of its materials and components independently tested for toxic substances.

Half of them tested positive for bromine, "suggesting widespread use" of brominated flame retardants; these are suspected of a range of threats to health, and the bromine itself can cause pollution when disposed of as waste.

Four items also tested positive for antimony, a toxic mineral often used with flame retardants, and others contained very small amounts of chromium and lead. Chlorine was found in the plastic coating of the headphone cables, indicating the presence of PVC.

In May, Apple promised that both PVC and the flame retardants would be banned from all its new products by 2009.


But the greatest headache for Apple is the discovery of phthalates, used to make plastic more flexible, in the cable coating. The chemicals are suspected of causing birth defects and gender-bending effects.

The Centre for Environmental Health says that under Californian law, products containing them must carry a warning label.

The CEH has notified the company that it is in violation and is threatening to sue. It believes the company may eliminate the materials rather than have to carry a warning label. Greenpeace says that all the chemicals found would be allowed under European law. Apple declined to comment.

- Independent

source

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Posted: 2007-10-25 01:52:16
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Apple should named it iPoison


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Posted: 2007-10-25 01:59:39
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''warning:iphone is addictive''
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Posted: 2007-10-25 09:52:29
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Bromine group slams Greenpeace iPhone report
Apple has done nothing wrong and the iPhone is within existing environmental legislation, says Bromine organisation
Jonny Evans

A chemical industry group has lashed out against Greenpeace, condemning the environmental lobby group for making unfair criticism of Apple's iPhone's green credentials.

Greenpeace last week released an analysis of the iPhone, in which it claims the product contains a range of potentially dangerous chemicals.

The Bromine Science and Environmental Forum BSEF), the international organisation of the bromine chemical industry, points out that none of the substances Greenpeace is criticising Apple for deploying in the device are banned under existing environmental law.

"All the substances reported by Greenpeace are approved for use, and provide critical performance and safety functions in a wide range of electronic products," the organisation countered.

The bromine chemical industry trade body points out that the brominated flame retardants used in the iPhone are commonly used in electronics products from all manufactuers, as they provide a high level of fire safety - essential in an age in which computer batteries randomly catch fire.

Greenpeace's biggest sin, according to the chemical industry organisation, is to have sensationalised its findings.

"The Greenpeace report does not say which brominated flame retardants are present in the iPhone because it does not know," the organisation says. "Therefore, the report speculates about what substances might be present, and raises an alarm without any basis for doing so."

The rebuttal continues to explain that - even according to Greenpeace's own study - the iPhone complies with all existing EU regulatory requirements.

It adds: "The brominated flame retardant most likely used in the iPhone is actually a reactive – it reacts with other substances to form a plastic and, once reacted, it is also no longer available to the environment. The Greenpeace report is incorrect in its assertions about the potential for releases to the environment."

The rebuttal also slams Greenpeace because its iPhone criticism ignored the requirement under recent EU law for manufacturers to take responsibility for the disposal of printed circuit boards, and railroads the environmental group for failing to offer a constructive alternative to brominated flame retardants for electronic devices.

Naturally, the chemical company trade body is protecting its own vested interests, but claims that its remit is "to ensure that the best available scientific information is used when addressing" issues concerning bromine.

BSEF members include Albemarle Corporation, ICL Industrial Products, Chemtura and Tosoh Corporation.

source: http://www.macworld.co.uk/ipo[....]wsid=19446&pagtype=allchandate
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Posted: 2007-10-25 10:22:09
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Maybe if i wrap it up in a tobaco leaf icould smoke it. I can see it now...

"The iCiggy"


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Posted: 2007-10-25 12:19:28
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http://www.telecomwereld.nl/toon.cgi?scherm=showmedia&mediaid=63

you can see the green-peace movie at the above link
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Posted: 2007-10-25 13:04:53
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That movie doesn't really add much to the debate. It just shows an iPhone in pieces. I don't really know what I'm looking at in terms of chemical toxins.

However, the rebuttal by the chemical industry seems to convieniently forget that the iPhone is sold only in the US by Apple where standards appear to be tougher than in the EU.
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Posted: 2007-10-26 02:08:23
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GOVERNMENT WARNING: iphone smoking is dangerous to your health! lol
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Posted: 2007-10-26 02:48:17
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call it iSeductive™
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Posted: 2007-10-26 03:26:12
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A for Apple
B for Bromine

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Posted: 2007-10-26 04:36:00
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