Greenpeace blasts iPhone for containing "hazardous chemicals"

Apple Inc., which is already facing two lawsuits over iPhone’s battery, has been slapped with another lawsuit, this time over the materials used in its combination phone. The National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) announced Monday that it is suing the iPod maker for violating pollution laws by allowing its revolutionary handset to ship with "hazardous chemicals" inside.

The environmental agency’s announcement came immediately after a report released Monday (Oct. 15) by environmental group Greenpeace, which after a scientific test of Apple’s cell phone-iPod-Internet communications device found that many of the components in the gadget contained small but significant traces of toxic chemicals, including phthaltes.

In a response to an international environmental organization, Greenpeace’s earlier claims that Apple Inc. is less environmentally conscious than others in the industry, Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs in May issued a public denial of claims, saying his company is an industry leader in removing toxic chemicals from its products and promoting recycling.

The Cupertino, California-based maker of the ubiquitous iPod had also outlined a number of new steps it will take to turn its image from that of green loser to green leader.

But, the recent Greenpeace report goes totally against Steve’s claims. After analyzing Apple's iPhone thoroughly at its Research Laboratories in the UK, the international environmental organization Greenpeace discovered that the device contains hazardous chemicals which have been already eliminated by other phonemakers.

The group claims to have uncovered two types of hazardous substances: toxic brominated compounds and hazardous PVC. Toxic brominated compounds usually indicate presence of the brominated flame retardants (BFRs), which are mostly added to make things less flammable.

“Brominated compounds were found in half the samples, including in the phone's antenna, in which they made up 10 percent of the total weight of the flexible circuit board," the report said. "A mixture of toxic phthalates was found to make up 1.5 percent of the polyvinyl plastic (PVC) coating of the headphone cables."

The group says that the levels of phthalates found in the device's plastic-covered earbud cords are classified in Europe as 'toxic to reproduction, category 2' because of their alleged interference with sexual development in mammals, and are already banned by the city of San Francisco and the European Union in all childcare goods.

The Greenpeace report has placed Apple behind other cellphone manufacturers who are already producing phones without either brominated flame retardants (BFRs) or PVC plastic. Nokia (with totally free components), Motorola and Sony-Ericsson (with BFR free components) are described as ahead of Apple in eliminating most or all of the substances from their production lines.

Based on these shocking results, the NCEH said it has decided to sue Apple. The group alleges that Apple has violated California’s Proposition 65 law that bars any anti-reproductive or cancer-inducing plasticizer chemicals, like PVC, from shipping inside a product without a comprehensive warning.

Under the law, all products that can expose consumers to phthalates or other chemicals that are reproductive toxins or carcinogens must bear a warning label. However, the multifunctional iPhone has lacked any such label since its launch in America on June, 29, the group said.

"There is no reason to have these potentially hazardous chemicals in iPhones" said Michael Green, Executive Director of Center for Environmental Health. "We expect Apple to reformulate their products to make them safer from cradle to grave, so they don’t pose a threat to consumers, workers or the environment."

However, in a response to Greenpeace’s report, the computer maker denied all claims and said its device complies with all eco-standards placed on toxic materials.

“Like all Apple products worldwide, iPhone complies with RoHS [Restriction of Hazardous Substances], the world’s toughest restrictions on toxic substances in electronics,” an Apple spokesperson said. “As we have said, Apple will voluntarily eliminate the use of PVC and BFRs by the end of 2008.”

Concerned with the potential dangers from the unused electronic devices that lie in the metals they contain, Greenpeace has long been urging gadget makers to become environmentally conscious and cut down the number of toxic substances used in electronics products.

On the other hand, tech companies have argued that recycling electronics is too difficult and expensive. Recycling or dismantling an old TV costs them as much as $60. If the metals of these gadgets are not disposed off properly, they can cause serious damage to all around. The toxins from a single phone can pollute up to 132,000 liters of water. Cadmium from the cell phone can damage the kidneys; lead can affect the central and peripheral vision. Mercury poisoning can cause brain damage.