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Hazardous substances reduced but not eliminated from laptops

Image shows dismantling of laptops to enable testing of individual components and materials for a range of hazardous substances as part of a Greenpeace study ‘Toxic Chemicals in Computers Exposed’ that revealed the presence of toxic substances in five well-known brand laptops, with HP and Apple having the highest contamination levels. Enlarge Image

Electronics companies green up their act

The latest edition of our quarterly Guide to Greener Electronics shows that major electronics firms have made large, green strides since the guide was first launched in August 2006. Nokia still leads, closely followed by Sony Ericsson, Dell and Lenovo.

Tea made with imported water and a dark, murky tea made with polluted local water. The local water makes the tea turn black, but no one locally knows why, they suspected that it has something to do with the horrific groundwater pollution from Guiyu's e-waste yards. Enlarge Image

Toxic tea party

Welcome to the Guiyu tea ceremony. Boss Guo sets a pair of thimble sized tea cups on a ceremonial tray. He half fills one of the tiny cups with bottled, drinkable water. In to the other he pours water from the well in his backyard. Then he fills both up with steaming Chinese tea. The cup with bottled water turns a healthy amber. The one with the well water instantly converts to an impenetrable black.

Contaminated waste water pours into a public canal in Thailand from a industrial treatment plant. Enlarge Image

Cutting edge contamination

The electronics industry is often considered a 'clean' industry. But sleek shiny gadgets hide a darker side of the industry. Our new report 'Cutting Edge Contamination' exposes that some of the electronics industries' biggest brands, and their suppliers, are contaminating rivers and underground wells with a wide range of hazardous chemicals during production.

Dismantling laptop prior to testing for toxic chemicals. Enlarge Image

HP and Apple's toxic laptops exposed

Some of the best-known laptops are contaminated with some of the worst toxic chemicals. Of the five top brands we tested Hewlett-Packard and Apple laptops showed the worst contamination levels.

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