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."
And whatever you do...for the love of God!...don't make a sandwich!!!!
[weird old SNL reference].....:))
This guy has to be from an environmentalist group.
"You think that was a coincidence???"
I suppose it was a case of one hand...er...uh..."washes" the other.
You should be ashamed of your self! :-)
"Do NOT lick your harddisk. Not while it's spinning, anyway"
This is hard advice for typing dogs to follow.
Don't hold your breath waiting for one of those clowns to actually publish a concentration or detection limit for the substances...
BTTT
Did you know that you can kill an otherwise healthy rat by shaving all its fur off, soaking it overnight in used motor oil, starving it for 2 weeks while it grows tumors on the burned, exposed skin blisters and then dissecting it while still writhing desperately to avoid the dull scalpel?
This report is part of the vast leftwing conspiracy to trick us Conservatives into giving up our net use and computer networking. Somehow, Bush has to be to blame for this. [BTW, ever heard of 'Charles River Rats'?]
Well, we have to save the jungle,er rainforest.
Dihydrogen is a performance enhancing chemical available to most high school athletes that may have a role in formation of cancers. More info http://www.dhmo.org/cancer.html
Dihydrogen=Dihydrogen Monoxide
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