Consoles endanger the environment
Tuesday, 20 May 2008 16:38
The Xbox 360 contains a number of potentially dangerous chemicals inside, says Greenpeace
In one of the more unusual stories to pass across the gamezine desktop today, Greenpeace has released a statement claiming popular games consoles contain hazardous chemicals and metals.
Nintendo's Wii, Sony's PlayStation 3 Elite and Microsoft's Xbox 360 all failed the environmental organisation's green electronics test, according to its Playing Dirty report.
The 360 and the PS3 were both found to contain abnormally high levels of phthalates, used to soften materials such as wires and cable coatings.
The chemicals, one of which has been linked with impaired sexual development in mammals, are not allowed in toys sold in the EU, yet are present in the consoles, which, of course, are used by children all over the world.
Nintendo was identified as the worst culprit, with "non-existent" environmental policies and, more worryingly, the most family-oriented marketing plan.
Greenpeace noted the three companies were complying with EU laws, but said they should be doing a lot more to eliminate dangerous chemicals from their produce.
"Whether game consoles are classified as toys or not, they can still contain hazardous chemicals and materials that could harm humans," saod Dr Kevin Brigden of the Greenpeace Science Unit.
"The technology is available for the manufacturers to design out toxics and produce greener game consoles now."