"Dude, you're still getting a Dell!"
Posted on 06/03/2004 5:24:23 PM PDT by nuconvert
Study: 'Toxic Dust' on Computers Has Chemicals Linked to Diseases
By Rachel Konrad/Associated Press
Jun 3, 2004
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - "Toxic dust" found on computer processors and monitors contains chemicals linked to reproductive and neurological disorders, according to a new study by several environmental groups. The survey, released Thursday by Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, Computer TakeBack Campaign and Clean Production Action, is among the first to identify brominated flame retardants on the surfaces of common devices in homes and offices.
Electronics companies began using polybrominated diphenyl (PBDEs) and other flame retardants in the 1970s, arguing that the toxins prevent fires and cannot escape from plastic casings.
"This will be a great surprise to everyone who uses a computer," said Ted Smith, director of the Toxics Coalition. "The chemical industry is subjecting us all to what amounts to chemical trespass by putting these substances into use in commerce. They continue to use their chemicals in ways that are affecting humans and other species."
Researchers collected samples of dust from dozens of computers in eight states, including university computer labs in New York, Michigan and Texas, legislative offices in California, and an interactive computer display at a children's museum in Maine. They tested for three types of brominated flame retardants suspected to be hazardous.
Penta- and octa-brominated diphenyl will be taken off the market by the end of the year. Environmental groups are demanding legislation that would ban deca-brominated diphenyl, too.
PBDEs, which have caused neurological damage in laboratory rats in numerous studies, are related to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). PCBs have been used in fire extinguishers, fluorescent lights and liquid insulators since the 1920s.
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and several other organizations have confirmed that PCBs damage brains of human fetuses.
Scientists have not directly correlated exposure to PBDEs with specific diseases or developmental impairment. Researchers at University of California, Davis, and elsewhere are studying possible links between brominated flame retardants and autism, but results are years away.
Independent researchers who reviewed the new study say consumers shouldn't throw out their computers, and they needn't wear special gloves or minimize exposure to computer monitors. There's no known way to remove dust-born PBDEs, so special wipes or sprays wouldn't reduce chemical exposure.
"The levels in the dust are enough to raise a red flag, but not enough to create a crisis," said Dr. Gina Solomon, senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council and assistant professor of medicine at University of California, San Francisco. "I have an old computer monitor in front of me now, and I'm not about to throw it away. But when I get a new one, it darn well will be free of these chemicals."
The electronics industry has been reducing or eliminating some brominated flame retardants since the late 1990s, when European countries began prohibiting the sale of products that contain the chemicals.
Dell Inc. and many other computer makers continue using a flame retardant related to PBDEs on circuit boards. They use lead, mercury and other toxins in central processing units and monitors. But Dell, along with Apple Computer Inc. and others, stopped using PBDEs in 2002.
"People can be very confident about their new computer purchase," Dell spokesman Bryant Hilton said. "We've worked a lot with suppliers, and we require audits and material data sheets on all our products. It's an important topic to be aware of, and brominated flame retardants are something we've been very focused on and will continue to be focused on."
Let's try to cheer up. For instance, the DUfers will never know what hit them....
"Hey, Dad, the man is here for the venetian blind."
Yogi: Well, go in my pocket and give him a couple of bucks for a donation and get rid of him.
LOL, i just checked this thread to see the picture. I knew it would be here.
It must be an amazing thing to create a classic commercial. I bet it is always a surprise!
LOL
Wasn't it funny how things turned out, considering Joycelyn Elders? The president hires a woman who advocates masturbation, all the while he is doing it in the White House sink. Truth really is stranger than fric-, er, fiction.
"Dude, you're still getting a Dell!"
You think that was a coincidence???
The horror.
The horror.
"Who wants to live forever?"
Nah! It just makes me wonder if she and he.....never mind. It's too sickening to think about.
want some of that Eric Clapner music played at my wake
I remember that how funny that was
So9
Oh no....does this mean that I will eventually have to die??? Let's all sue Bill Gates!
It's more dangerous than brushing your teeth, but less dangerous than shampooing your hair, which according to a recent study may rot the brain.
Also looming as a tragic threat is beauty parlor syndrome:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1123563/posts
Don't lick your computer equipment and you should be all right.
OMG--ROFL!
So does partial birth abortion, directly and deliberately. All abortions do indirectly. Naturally (pun intended) the collectivist enviro-socialists just haven't gotten around to speaking up for the fetuses, too much class warfare benefit to be gained for now.
Ouch.
That hertz.
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