'Toxic Dust' on Computers Tied to Disease

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'Toxic Dust' on Computers Tied to Disease

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By RACHEL KONRAD

AP Technology Writer

 

June 4, 2004, 6:47 AM CDT

 

SAN FRANCISCO -- " 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.

 

The most toxic piece of equipment discovered by the researchers was a new

flat-screen monitor in a university in New York, implying that newer equipment

isn't necessarily cleaner.

 

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.

 

PCBs were outlawed in the 1970s, but the toxins don't erode and still persist

in the environment.

 

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. "

 

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On the Net:

 

Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition: http://www.svtc.org

Copyright © 2004, The Associated Press