Greenpeace finds hazardous chemicals in PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii
Posted: 20 May 2008 by Adam Vaughan
Not content with prising open the iPhone in its hunt for toxic components, Greenpeace has dismantled the three big games consoles to see what unpleasant materials they contain. The resulting report, Playing Dirty, is out today. The upshot: the PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii didn't break any laws, but -- as you'll discover -- they do contain dubious and arguably unnecessary chemicals.
The research reveals that the three together contain a mixture of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), phthalates, beryllium and bromine. Bromine and beryllium are mainly a health issue for workers during disposal and recycling, while phthalates have the unwelcome honour of being linked to sexual reproduction problems -- especially in male mammals. Not something that gaming geezers will want to hear.
While Greenpeace points out all three are making an effort, the results from the charity's research centre at the University of Exeter show all three console makers could be cleaner. Here's how they fare up.
PS3
The PS3's motherboard gets the once-over
-- Contained some bromine-free circuit boards -- the only console tested to receive that honour
-- But it also had the highest level (13.8 per cent) of bromine in a single component, the fan housing
-- It contained PVC, but not as much as the Xbox. The report points out the differences in PVC weren't huge
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 motherboard in the grip of Greenpeace's scientists
-- The only console which Greenpeace found DiNP phthalates in -- bad news. They were found in the AV cable
-- It had the highest concentration of any phthalates -- 27.5 per cent of a type called DEHP in a power cable coating
-- It also contained more PVC than the Wii and PS3
-- On the plus side, the housing materials had lower levels of brominated materials
Wii
The Nintendo Wii as you've never seen it before
-- Phthalates were much lower than in the PS3 and 360 -- unlike the other two, they didn't exceed EU laws limiting phthalate levels in toys
-- It also had the least amount of PVC overall
-- None of its electrical contacts contained Beryllium -- both the 360 and PS3 did
If you've got the time, the full report makes for interesting reading and is available here. The report's certainly a turnaround for Nintendo, which Greenpeace previously ranked bottom on its eco efforts because of a failure to disclose information.
Souce: SmartPlanetLabels: Microsoft, Nintendo, PlayStation 3, PS3, Sony, Wii, xbox 360 |
