Would you buy the iPhone 5 if you knew it was full of toxics? Luckily, you don't have to worry about that, as Apple's latest mobile phone got a clean bill of health from organizations that studied toxics in mobile phones.
IT managers may find the new study incredibly useful: It ranks 36 different phones released in the last five years based on the relative concentration and presence of toxic chemicals. Ten mobile phone manufacturers, including Apple, Motorola, Hewlett-Packard, LG Electronics, Nokia and Samsung were included in the study, which was a joint effort between Ann Arbor-based Ecology Center and ifixit.com.
Apple recently made headlines on another green-products front, when it reversed, after just a few days, its much-maligned decision to withdraw from the EPEAT green electronics registry, which many governments and companies use to determine their electronics purchasing policies.
The Ecology Center study looked at levels of toxins like mercury and lead in components such as the screen, solder and processor. Phones were ranked on a qualititative scale from "Low" to "Medium" to "High" and were also given a numeric rating from 2.6 (the lowest score) to 5.0 (the highest). A lower score indicates that less toxic chemicals were present, while a higher score signals a more-toxic profile.
Samsung phones had the highest average rating of all phones tested. While Apple showed the greatest improvement of any manufacturer in the study among phone models released in the last five years, none of the phones tested was free of toxic chemicals.
“Even the best phones from our study are still loaded with chemical hazards,” said Jeff Gearhart, research director at the Ecology Center and founder of HealthyStuff.org. “These chemicals, which are linked to birth defects, impaired learning and other serious health problems, have been found in soils at levels 10 to 100 times higher than background levels at e-waste recycling sites in China. We need better federal regulation of these chemicals, and we need to create incentives for the design of greener consumer electronics.”
Next page: How the iPhone 5 scored
Good to see telcos continue
Good to see telcos continue to improve the design of their phones and great we have the phones being assessed externally.
Another useful guide is Vodafone's Eco-rating recently launched in Australia and New Zealand http://www.vodafone.com.au/aboutvodafone/corporateresponsibility/ecorating - ittakes into account not only lifecycle analysis but also green design and company performance.
It also highlights the need to make sure you recycle your old mobiles with reputable recycling programs like MobileMuster (www.mobilemuster.com.au) and not those that simply trade them into developing countries with no care or knowledge of how they will be recycled.
I am glad that phone
I am glad that phone manufactures are reducing toxic components in their products, but what are they doing to improve the working conditions of their subcontractors in China?
Less than two weeks ago Foxconn, the Chinese manufacturer for Apple, Dell, HP, Nokia... had its production process halted during 24 hours as a consequence of employees riot. They were protesting, surprise surprise, against demeaning working conditions. More information: http://www.cnbc.com/id/49159164
While applauding the reduction of hazardous chemicals, we should also be demanding minimum labor conditions for Chinese employees.
Hmmm, a relative toxic
Hmmm, a relative toxic rating. At some level true risk data should be available, rather than such subjective rankings.
Stating chlorine, bromine, lead, mercury evokes thoughts of toxic compounds. But I could also say your frying pan has some mercury and lead content (all ferrous metals do), and certainly table salt has chlorine. While I obviously pushed the counter point too far. I will say cell phone toxicity is way, way down on my list of toxic risks. My biggest risk from cell phones is getting hit by a driver using them.