The Hindu : National : Greenpeace: laptops hazardous

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Wednesday, Sep 20, 2006
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National

Greenpeace: laptops hazardous

Special Correspondent

Harmful chemicals found in branded ones

"HP has failed and is behind the times"

"Apple has earned itself an image of an industrial dinosaur"

NEW DELHI: A Greenpeace study has shown presence of toxic substances in well-known branded laptops with HP and Apple having the highest contamination levels.

Among other things, the Greenpeace report "Toxic Chemicals in Computers Exposed" showed that the HP laptop had high levels of a number of chemicals in its components, in particular the highest levels by far of PBDEs (a class of brominated flame retardant) including decaBDE, in the fan. Lead was also detected in the soldering. The Apple Macbook contained in the fan the highest level among the five brands tested for TBBPA BFR. Many of the chemicals found in the laptops, including lead, PVC and some BFRs, are hazardous to health and persist in the environment," the study has said.

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