Game consoles contain harmful materials, Greenpeace finds
by Ross Miller 
{ May 20th 2008 at 9:00PM }
We can see it now: Local news blips in commercial breaks during LOST, warning you and your family of the "invisible killer lurking in your house ... and you let him in!" But before you start throwing flour all over the house in the hopes of it sticking onto the hidden hitman, said invisible killer might be bromine and phthalates, toxic chemicals that Greenpeace recently found pervade some hardware components of the current generation of consoles.
According to their lab findings, the PlayStation 3's AV cables contained phthalates up to 21.2 percent by weight, while the housing on the cooling fan had "the highest level of bromine found in all components tested from all three consoles," 13.8 percent by weight. The Xbox 360's power cable contained phthalates up to 27.5 percent by weight. Both console's controllers were noted for having low levels of bromine.
The Nintendo Wii, while having bromine up to 12.5 percent by weight in its internal housing, was praised for having no beryllium, which can cause lung disease. Check out the Greenpeace page for more information. So we must ask, will bromine and pthalates blend?
According to their lab findings, the PlayStation 3's AV cables contained phthalates up to 21.2 percent by weight, while the housing on the cooling fan had "the highest level of bromine found in all components tested from all three consoles," 13.8 percent by weight. The Xbox 360's power cable contained phthalates up to 27.5 percent by weight. Both console's controllers were noted for having low levels of bromine.
The Nintendo Wii, while having bromine up to 12.5 percent by weight in its internal housing, was praised for having no beryllium, which can cause lung disease. Check out the Greenpeace page for more information. So we must ask, will bromine and pthalates blend?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Gehodra @ May 20th 2008 9:05PM
People still watch LOST? I thought everyone realized the writers fucked themselves over after the first season.
Cesaria (MKW:2621-2994-1376) @ May 20th 2008 9:19PM
Lost rocks. The show is much better now than it was in the first season.
MarkHawk @ May 20th 2008 9:41PM
Between the Beyond crew over at IGN and my friends back in New York I might just start to watch it.
On topic though-
Hopefully these issues will be address in the future models and next gen systems. The less harmful shit in my house the better.
Chris @ May 20th 2008 9:41PM
Do you read Joystiq just so you can start flame wars?
Chris @ May 20th 2008 9:41PM
Is that how you get your FREAK ON?! :-)
Gehodra @ May 20th 2008 10:49PM
Oh yes. I freak it up to the max with this stuff.
!nonsensical Lost spoiler alert! (just for you MarkHawk)
*shrug* I dunno, I really liked the first season, with all those cool things they were supposed to deal with, but around the time they decided that the big robot/dinosaur monster in the forest should become a black mist security system... I lost interest. I think that was also around the time the writers admitted they didn't know how they were gonna resolve half the plot devices of the show, and that they were making it all up on the fly. It was kinda like the first season ended and the writers were like "Shit, we have to deliver on all that stuff we brought in?"
Woo, hopefully the spoiler got lost in that wall of text.
Dan Felton @ May 21st 2008 7:51AM
I guess I better stop injecting all those xbox 360 components into my veins.
Oh, and I suppose eating the wireless receiver from the Wii isn't as healthy as I thought.
Fernando Rocker @ May 20th 2008 9:05PM
Is not that we are going to eat or sniff the consoles...
Gehodra @ May 20th 2008 9:17PM
Speak for yourself.
Cesaria (MKW:2621-2994-1376) @ May 20th 2008 9:19PM
I do a line of Wii every night...
John McPoop @ May 21st 2008 12:31AM
I am surprised you didn't bash the PS3 this time around ... shocked ... guess your all worn out from the Haze thread ...
Maybe this is something we can all NOT argue over
FYI - That bromine sure is a killer in my hot tub ;)
ThornedVenom (Harley Quinn Defense Force) @ May 21st 2008 4:45AM
Consoles spreading STDs, confirmed!
JCD @ May 21st 2008 10:28AM
Cesaria's comment ftw
LordMinogue @ May 20th 2008 9:09PM
Everything we make is toxic. It's pretty funny. For a good laugh, read about the toxicity of carbon nanotubes.
"Results from various scientific tests on cells have so far proven confusing, with some results indicating it to be highly toxic and others showing no signs of toxicity."
...Jan... @ May 20th 2008 9:10PM
So...as long as I don't open up my Wii and feast on its innards, I'm perfectly safe?
However, I guess it is more likely for a pet to chew on a PS3 AV cable or 360 power cord.
Can't believe Greenpeace actually made a video though.
John McPoop @ May 21st 2008 12:32AM
A pretty freaky video at that ... Good PR dept ... Better than the animation piece done with Master Chief, Kratos & Mario a few months back
Triforceowner @ May 21st 2008 5:51PM
Well I know that bromine turns solid to gas at room temperature spontaneously... so...
yanipheonu @ May 20th 2008 9:15PM
Well, you know, sunlight can cause cancer, so I guess Greenpeace should get on the Sun's case now...
Haggard @ May 20th 2008 9:13PM
Do Greenpeace seriously not have bigger fish to fry? Sure, it's not great that toxic chemicals are in games consoles. Hmmm, millions of tonnes of toxic gases being belched out by heavy industry? Probably best to leave them to it.
Deozaan @ May 20th 2008 9:22PM
I was going to make a derisive comment insulting Greenpeace, but the rest of you are doing a fine job by yourselves.
Fly my pretties!
Carl Abrams @ May 20th 2008 9:22PM
The environmentalists are also going after the high pollution levels of carbon dioxide in the air due to respiration. You know - the gas we exhale when we breathe.
Are they going to complain about the levels of acids used to etch our computer motherboards next? Or maybe they'll complain about one of the most corrosive acids found on earth - which is in the human stomach because it digests our food.
(If you think I don't care too much for Greenpeace - you're right.)
PointyThings @ May 20th 2008 9:40PM
God how old are you?
I think Greenpeace is rather silly, especially this particular video. There's WAY more highly toxic shit everywhere, even in what we eat. Pick your battles Greenpeace.
That said, you're an idiot. It isn't "respiration" you dolt, it's the tons of shit we put in the air from industry. Yes, we breath out CO2, but it's mostly absorbed by plants (and there's no fucking way our breath could make it high enough into the atmosphere). Even 6 billion people couldn't possibly make an impact on the atmosphere by breathing. The problem comes when we cut down said oxygen absorbing trees, and pump tons, literal tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. I don't think there's anything less cool than "being green" but Jesus Christ man, pay attention in your fucking science class. I won't even go as far as to say global warming is real, just that you sir, are grossly misinformed.
Kalroy @ May 20th 2008 9:45PM
They went after the acids years ago, and expensive changes had to be made. They went after solder, and that has caused expensive changes. The solder I use at work costs more, requires higher temperatures, and much more toxic flux. But hey, it's free of cadmium (good for me) and lead (good for kids everywhere).
Kalroy
Anticrawl @ May 20th 2008 10:45PM
I'll keep using my old soldering iron for projects. If you aren't wise enough to not lick the lead or touch it and then rub it on your tongue then you probably don't deserve the nice things I make. And most lead isn't enough to be toxic to the average person when absorbed through the skin so don't start with me.
Also on another note I love when the environmentalist claim we won't have oxygen to breathe if we keep chopping down all our trees. Funny considering that the majority of the oxygen produced on our planet is by algae over our oceans. Now if they had chosen warming of our climate, erosion or loss of habitat I'd be more inclined to believe these morons.
Vidikron (FU) @ May 20th 2008 11:37PM
Whew... glad you cleared that up, Anticrawl. It's a good thing we take such good care of oceans then, amirite?
John McPoop @ May 21st 2008 12:42AM
@Pointy Things
You know trees aren't the only way we have oxygen ... plankton? ... The Earth is something like 30% oxygen by mass ... throw me a bottle of that liquid oxygen why don't cha
Fun Wikipedia fact Of The Day--
The main driving factor of the oxygen cycle is photosynthesis, which is responsible for modern Earth's atmosphere. Because of the vast amounts of oxygen gas available in the atmosphere, even if all photosynthesis were to cease completely, it would take all the oxygen-consuming processes at the present rate at least another 5,000 years to strip all the O2 from the atmosphere.
Free oxygen also occurs in solution in the world's water bodies. The increased solubility of O2 at lower temperatures has important implications for ocean life, as polar oceans support a much higher density of life due to their higher oxygen content.
--
Just throwing that out there
PointyThings @ May 21st 2008 12:52AM
Could any of you quote where I say we're running out of oxygen? I said deforestation is a contributing factor to global warming. That's a pretty big difference. Trees absorb CO2, and if you cut them down that means more CO2, then global warming. Not NEARLY as much as from pollution but it's a factor, especially because we also burn fossil fuels to cut down aforementioned trees.
My real point was how ridiculous it is that someone could think that breathing was causing climate change.
LaughingTarget @ May 21st 2008 8:24AM
Trees don't reduce CO2 levels by very much. Trees respirate 24/7 like we do and at night, they produce CO2. The Amazon and Congo rain forests are net producers of CO2, meaning they create, not eliminate, greenhouse gas. Our key CO2 elimination mechanism is aquatic algae. 90% of our O2 comes from the ocean. Not killing ocean life is critical to greenhouse elimination. If greenhouse gases were a major concern, deforestation of the world's rainforests should be on the menu.
StudiodeKadent @ May 20th 2008 9:35PM
Typical enviro-nazism. Greenpeace actually aren't the worst of them, strangely enough. Indeed, one of their founders, Patrick Moore, has endorsed Nuclear power as the way to cut down on greenhouse gasses. Moore left the organization when it was dragged into irrationalism.
Fundamentally, environmentalism is a religion. Neither the Christian Right nor the Tree Huggers are more friendly to video games, they see them as either corrupting the youth or poisoning the children, and since they stupidly think only kids play computer games, they think they can endlessly bash and get away with it.
Comics were treated in the same way. "Will somebody think of the children! Will somebody think of the planet!" etc.
Our favorite pasttime is strapped to the altar and about to be sacrificed to god, either James Dobson's or James Lovelock's (i.e. the fundie's God or the environmentalist's God).
Its already been pointed out that you basically have to snort lines of these chemicals to actually be in danger, Greenpeace are just trying to induce panic and fear. Read Michael Chrichton's "State Of Fear" if you want to see more about these Tree-Fascists.
PointyThings @ May 20th 2008 9:45PM
Correct me if I'm wrong but, isn't State of Fear fiction?
Ben @ May 20th 2008 9:58PM
Just the fact that you actually read/invited someone to read "State of Fear" makes me think so much less of what you actually wrote... That book was trashed by so many scientist, it's not even funny. Oh wait, sorry, those scientists are "Tree-Facists" aren't they. Wait, is NASA a Tree-hugging organization?
Quote from the head of NASA's Goddard Institute, "He (Michael Crichton) doesn’t seem to have the foggiest notion about the science that he writes about."
So, go ahead, read Michael Chrichton's "State Of Fear", if you want to be misled even more.
Now, back on topic... Who the hell cares about Greenpeace anyway. People actually listen to them? They're almost as scientifically misleading as Michael Crichton.
John @ May 21st 2008 4:23PM
Bet if NASA stopped jetting useless shit into space, they could cut down on some CO2 emissions.
LaughingTarget @ May 20th 2008 9:42PM
Seems to me by opening their mouths, we get tons of pollution.
Brazell @ May 20th 2008 9:44PM
Greenpeace is starving people in the third world because of baseless, political opposition to GM food. They have larger concerns.
Kalroy @ May 20th 2008 9:47PM
Don't forget subsidized ethanol. I mean who woulda ever thought "Tortilla Riots in Mexico" coulda been a headline for anyone but SNL?
Kalroy
ill trooper @ May 20th 2008 10:04PM
"Baseless, political opposition."
That's YOUR opinion, one thrown out there without any link or data to back it up, by the way.
I'm not really down for genetically-modified food myself; it's been introduced into the wild without proper testing and the long term effects are a mystery. Some of that food is not allowed in the US by the FDA for that reason, but yet is basically being tested on third-world nations. Sorta suspect. Ever heard of 'bovine growth hormone?' 'Terminator Seeds?' No, probably not. Ever heard of Monsanto? Well, take some time and read up on it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsanto
ill trooper @ May 20th 2008 9:47PM
Unfortunately many of our favorite things fall into this category, and like little children refusing to go to bed, some of you are taking this assessment by Greenpeace the wrong way: it's being brought up for our own good. Video game consoles aren't being singled-out (like Carl Abrams above assumes), but rather, added to a list of devices that have very little sustainability (i.e. reusable components, except, of course, the two gamecubes reclaimed for every Wii).
No one is asking you to stop playing games and start eating rocks and granola. Reports like this are done to raise awareness, so the industry will hopefully take notice, and try to make positive changes in certain manufacturing techniques to benefit our environment in the long term, if it's a matter of using reclaimed paper-pulp instead of styrofoam for packing, or using enviro-friendly material for parts.
It really often comes down to cost, and companies manufacturing something in the millions will often start counting pennies for each part, opting for raw new plastic material rather than available recycled material because it's more expensive or can't be made bright white anymore (that's a loose example, I can't claim I heard of THAT happening).
I really think we can somehow find middle ground. I would pay more per console if it was justified by not creating as much pollution or using raw resources as much.
Check this animation from last year out, it's an interesting way to spend 20 minutes:
http://www.storyofstuff.com/
Just something to think about.
Vidikron (FU) @ May 20th 2008 9:54PM
Sensible dicussion has no place here at Joystiq.
ill trooper @ May 20th 2008 10:05PM
I know, and like an idiot I still try! Oh well, part of the curse of being an older gamer...
LaughingTarget @ May 20th 2008 10:14PM
The thing I dislike about Greenpeace is they are a complain organization. They never offer up real, viable solutions. Their solutions, on the rare occasion they bother to come up with one, is usually inefficient or grossly expensive. Great, there are phthalates in a PS3 power cord, what's their fix for the problem? It usually involves getting someone else to pay for that research. Why doesn't Greenpeace focus research on a viable solar cell that doesn't require square miles of land to replace a coal plant or fund the expansion of hydrogen fueling stations so those of us not in Los Angeles can buy fuel cell cars?
Rhetorical, Greenpeace would rather have Joe Taxpayer cover the bill so they can search for the next scare to study, possibly the dangers of the pollution generated to make a solar cell or the dangerous increase of water from fuel cell cars. They don't really care or they'd do something substantial instead of generating relevance to keep the donations flowing.
Jacksons @ May 20th 2008 10:03PM
My PSP's USB cable is phthalate free! I can chew on it all day long, nom nom nom.
Kujel @ May 20th 2008 10:19PM
I think I'm going to dump some used motor oil down the drain just to snub green peace for attacking the one true medium.
Heraldo Coil @ May 20th 2008 10:29PM
Just because Greenpeace is a retarded organization doesn't mean you should be equally so.
Kujel @ May 20th 2008 10:40PM
I never like nature anyway and I hate I hate fuckers bashing the one true medium.
darkandlong @ May 20th 2008 10:48PM
Want to save the planet? Tell China to stop burning all that coal. Leave my 360 and PS3 alone.
eNrique @ May 20th 2008 10:49PM
we should kill dogs they have a lot of bacterias, and cats, and we should be allowed to go on to the streets there are a lot viruses, damn, finally, a non profit organization opens my eyes,
ohh wait...
:s
fuck them
Aprime @ May 20th 2008 10:55PM
There's quite a difference between natural stuff like the things you pointed out and man-made dangers.
eNrique @ May 20th 2008 11:27PM
i know, but they are harmful, and they could kill us
btw, have you heard about alcohol or tobacco???
(man made ones)
well the main point is, who gives a fuck about it?
randomshagz @ May 20th 2008 10:49PM
Warranty Void.
Ridgecity @ May 20th 2008 11:00PM
lol, guess they want a piece of the gaming piece profits... guess donations are hitting a new low for the yuppie group. The one thing I like is how they tape their once a year, pacific resistance and their release little turtles and use that video all year long for their campaign or use one of last year's, because enviroment damage happens once a year and they are always there trying to stop it, And how come they don't bother Mcdonald's (one of their big sponsors) for all the waste they produce in their millions of stores? $$$