10/22/2007, 10:15am, EDT
Monday, October 22nd
Chemical industry defends iPhone contents
A group representing the chemical industry has announced its support for Apple in defense of new criticisms from Greenpeace, accusing the company of continuing to use toxic chemicals in the construction of the iPhone, reports say. The Bromine Science and Environmental Forum (BSEF) claims foremost that none of the chemicals used are banned under any environmental laws, although Greenpeace points out that phthalates are restricted from use in child products in Europe. BSEF further argues that the brominates in the iPhone are essential, as they protect against fire in an era of self-combusting batteries.
The group's greatest complaint however is that Greenpeace has exaggerated its findings, and is in some instances just wrong. "The Greenpeace report does not say which brominated flame retardants are present in the iPhone because it does not know," a statement accuses. "Therefore, the report speculates about what substances might be present, and raises an alarm without any basis for doing so."
Another claimed example is that the brominated retardants "most likely" found in the iPhone are reactive, binding with other chemicals to form a plastic that keeps them out of the environment. Likewise, BSEF says that European law requires proper disposal of printed circuit boards, and that Greenpeace has proposed no alternative to brominates.
The Center for Environmental Health recently decided to sue Apple over the iPhone's contents, and specifically cited the Greenpeace report, not for mention of brominates but rather for the presence of phtalates in the headphone cables' PVC. Apple is legally required to warn customers of any carcinogens or reproductive toxins, the Center charges.
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save the whales, stop nuclear proliferation, save the planet and buy a greener apple; computers may take some time to clean up just like the other two mantras.
I stopped using whale oil for my lamps and I have swore off nuclear proliferations but don't make me choose some other 'virus box' because a few toxic chemicals used during production in shanghai...
If better tech exists then I'd expect a cleaner industry with fewer toxic victims... until then please remember those who've perished due to industrial toxic chem's of days gone by, you know who you are...RIP
They're too busy sucking Algore's wang.
for the millioth time...