Study Finds iPhone Contains Harmful Chemicals
Haider Rizvi, OneWorld US Tue Oct 16, 2:51 PM ET
NEW YORK, Oct 16 (OneWorld) - Apple's iPhone contains hazardous chemicals that can endanger human health and the environment, say scientists associated with the environmental organization Greenpeace International who tested the device in their laboratories a few months ago.
Greenpeace scientists claimed this week that they found two types of hazardous substances in the iPhone that have already been eliminated by other mobile phone makers.
"Two of the phthalate plasticisers found at high levels in the headphone cable are toxic to reproduction," said Dr. David Santillo, senior scientist at the Greenpeace Research Laboratories.
Santillo and many other scientists assert that these substances interfere with sexual development in mammals, and therefore their use in products such as toys or other childcare articles have been banned in Europe.
However, though questionable, their use in mobile phones is still legal.
Greenpeace campaigners say they decided to test the iPhone in their UK laboratory in June after Apple management publicly declared that it would address environmental concerns as it launched new products.
In May when the iPhone was launched, thousands of consumers took part in Greenpeace's "Green My Apple" campaign after Apple's Steve Jobs bragged about the fine environmental quality of his company's products.
In introducing the iPhone, he said: "Apple is ahead of, or will soon be ahead of, most of its competitors" on environmental issues.
"We watched closely when the iPhone was launched in June for any mention of the green features of the phone from Apple," said a Greenpeace official. "There was none."
The laboratory tests show the iPhone contains toxic brominated compounds (indicating the presence of brominated flame retardants -- so-called BFRs) and hazardous PVC plastics. The findings are detailed in the Greenpeace report entitled "Missed call: the iPhone's Hazardous Chemicals."
Researchers at the laboratory say they have tested 18 internal and external components of the iPhone and confirmed the presence of brominated compounds in half the samples, including in the phone's antenna.
A mixture of toxic phthalates was found to make up 1.5 percent of the plastic (PVC) coating of the headphone cables, according to Zeina Alhajj, a Greenpeace campaigner .
"Steve Jobs has missed the call on making the iPhone his first step towards greening Apple's products," said Alhajj. "It seems that Apple is far from leading the way for a green electronics industry as competitors, like Nokia, already sell mobile phones free of PVC."
Apple's media relations officials did not return calls for their comments on the Greenpeace study Monday, though an Apple spokesperson did tell the trade publication Macworld that the company "will voluntarily eliminate the use of PVC and BFRs by the end of 2008."
The California-based non-profit Center for Environmental Health is hoping to speed up that process. The group announced its intention Monday to bring a lawsuit against Apple, through which it aims to reach a negotiated settlement to reduce the use of the chemicals in question.
Greenpeace researchers said during the tests they also found the iPhone's battery was "unusually glued and soldered" into the handset, which hinders battery replacement and makes separation for recycling or appropriate disposal more difficult, and therefore adds to the burden of electronic waste.
Several of Apple's competitors have said they have identified extra toxic chemicals they intend to remove in the future -- beyond current minimum legal requirements.
Nokia mobile phones are totally PVC free, while Motorola and Sony Ericsson have already put products on the market with BFR-free components. Nokia and Sony Ericsson have a global take-back policy for their phones and accept responsibility for reuse and recycling of phones they manufacture.
Environmentalists say that saves resources and helps prevent old phones from adding to the mountain of e-waste that has been dumped in Asia and elsewhere.
Apple does not have a global free take-back policy so the eventual fate of the 4 to 10 million iPhones likely to be sold in the product's first year is uncertain, analysts say.
"With next month's European launch of the iPhone, Apple should sell a version which is at least as green as the offerings from Sony Ericsson, Nokia, and Motorola," said Greenpeace's Alhajj.
"Only then can loyal fans of Steve Jobs believe that his promises of a greener Apple will bear any fruit. Right now Steve appears to have any green product news 'on hold'."