Greenpeace disassembles consoles, checks toxin levels
by David Hinkle 
{ May 20th 2008 at 10:28PM }
Greenpeace is at it again. In disassembling the three major home consoles on the market, they came to some interesting conclusions regarding each system's toxic ingredients. Now, we'll save you all of the specifics if you're the kind of person who just wants to know the bottom line: the Wii beat out the Xbox 360 and PS3 for having the least amount of toxic chemicals within it. For the rest of you, check out some interesting details that Greenpeace found out, which have been organized by bullet-point for your convenience:
- The PS3's AV cables contain phthalates up to 21.2 percent by weight, as well as "the highest level of bromine found in all components tested from all three consoles" in the housing of the cooling fan, which comes to 13.8 percent by weight, as well as low levels of bromine in the controller
- The Xbox 360's power cable contains phthalates up to 27.5 percent by weight, as well as low levels of bromine in the controller
- The Wii has phthalates 12.5 percent by weight in its internal housing, along with no beryllium
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Roto13 @ May 20th 2008 10:43PM
Goddamn Greenpeace. Bitch, bitch, bitch, that's all they ever... are.
Orion @ May 20th 2008 11:00PM
Nice to know if I... uh... eat my Wii, I'll still have a chance of dying lol. You'd think people would just recycle the systems in the far future if they broke instead of throwing it away, so what's the big deal. Almost every company now takes back old hardware to recycle for free these days.
Orion @ May 20th 2008 11:02PM
lastly... is it even possible to make something that is made of plastic and metal to be totally safe? I mean.. it's plastic. Even tupperware can kill you when it's heated and the plastic gets in your food.. so.......is this really a fault of theirs?
RatMasterD21 @ May 20th 2008 11:03PM
greenpeace is full of fail
Blue_Falcon @ May 20th 2008 11:14PM
Man, I was thinking of eating my Wii for dinner tomorrow night, too.
Damn.
Jake @ May 20th 2008 11:29PM
How did they find an extra Wii in the first place?
Waffala @ May 20th 2008 11:40PM
Haha, I honestly had to lol for that, couldn't help it.
J rod @ May 21st 2008 12:29AM
They bought one off of ebay.
Ethan @ May 21st 2008 12:02AM
Hopefully they breathed a lot in.
Austin @ May 21st 2008 12:14AM
HAHA... what a colossal waste of money!
Mike @ May 21st 2008 12:31AM
This just in...
100% of all people that play, or come in contact with, a video game console will die.
Ferco @ May 21st 2008 12:51AM
I think you're all missing the point by a wide margin. This isn't abou what you shouldn't eat, it's about what mother nature shouldn't have to. Or am I missing your cleverly disguised sarcasm?
hvnlysoldr @ May 21st 2008 2:06AM
You've seen animals eat games. Show us videos now. Neither are questions they are commands. SHOW US PROOF NOW
Ferco @ Feb 7th 2009 6:46AM
http://www.telltalegames.com/strongbad/trailer
Homestar Runner is an animal right?
Dan @ May 21st 2008 1:36AM
I think what Nintendo shows us is that you *can* take steps to minimize waste, even just by focusing on the overall size of your console.
All this stuff eventually gets disposed of. Unfathomable for the Wii at this point in its life cycle, but obsolete computer junk is a legitimate and growing problem.
RupeeClock @ May 21st 2008 5:05AM
DOES THIS MEAN IT'S SAFE TO EAT MY WII?
OH GEEZ I BETTER NOT MELT MY PS3 I MIGHT GET CANCER.
God I hate Greenpeace.
Sorry, but I just don't care for their attention mongering tactics, it's clear they're just targeting a large audience through video games in order to preach for a clean environment.
Rich H. @ May 21st 2008 9:49AM
I've been wanting an 360 for awhile now way to go green peace destroying one right before my eyes. *this is just a worthless message in response to their worthless study*
milan @ May 21st 2008 9:50AM
Honestly, what are they worried about?? There are people who dump shit into lakes. Why are they talking about specific game consoles? It's very strange.
milan @ May 21st 2008 9:54AM
"The PS3's AV cables contain fatalities up to 21.2 percent by weight..."
nintendo1889 @ May 21st 2008 10:11AM
Don't make me laugh! Since when did plastic not have dangerous chemicals? Heck, I remember back in the 80s/90s when car A/C used to have freon and people freaked out about that, but dissembling videogame consoles?! Boy, they must be A- really rich to waste money for said consoles, or B- really stupid to try to prove that consoles are "dangerous" for the environment. Well, I'm gonna add a "C" to the list of choices, which means to me, "who gives a crap, anyway"?
Rocketboy @ May 21st 2008 12:18PM
So does that mean that Nintendo is really the greenist of them all? And if Bromine is so bad, does that mean anyone who swam in a bromine pool will mutate into half man, half turtle ninjas?
directive0 @ May 21st 2008 1:24PM
Good going Greenpeace, keeping companies honest. Nobody is saying "Nintendo, stop making the Wii" so stop taking this as a personal jab and think critically for a moment. These toxins effect YOU, you of all people should be pushing Nintendo to clean up their act. When they change their methods of production they benefit, our ecosystem benefits, WE benefit. Its win freaking win.
My attempt to educate:
-Wouldn't people just recycle their electronics?
List for me the last electronic devices you left out on the curb on garbage day, and the ones you recycled. Even if you were to recycle this device, there are components and additives that cannot be recycled, or even when they are recycled contribute to contamination of the water table, etc. Whats worse is a lot of these materials are used to keep prices down and safer more readily available materials exist.
-Why are they worried about video games?
Video game systems are the fastest growing market for consumer electronics. With it not being uncommon for a consumer to own more then one, many being younger children. These heavy metals and toxins not only leach into the ground when disposed, but particulates enter your indoor air supply and you breath them in. This happens to not just consoles, but TV's, DVD players, etc etc etc, these materials are everywhere.
-Is it even possible produce electronics that do not have toxins?
YES! Not only is it possible, it's becoming both cost effective and profitable when done correctly in a large enough volume. And the more we as consumers demand it from companies the easier it becomes for them to justify it!
-This is just greenpeace looking for attention!
You're damn right! Their goal is to keep an eye on big corporations who are able to justify adding something capable of causing harm with long term exposure to a product just to save 50¢ a unit. The only way to effect these companies is by informing consumers of what they are doing and getting them to understand that CONSUMERS have the power to change their actions.
If you hate greenpeace, thats cool. Nobody is asking you to donate money to them. BUT THINK CRITICALLY ABOUT WHAT THEY ARE SAYING! The fact remains were it not for greenpeace a whole bunch of horrible corporate shenanigans would have gone through and a lot of us would be in worse shape. They are one of the few environmental watchdogs that refuse donations from corporations and are accountable only to their donors! Don't take other peoples word for it, look into them, maybe you will even start to accept that the things we are buying are not only unhealthy, but pretty stupidly built and maybe you will want to push for more efficient and safe manufacturing. Besides you can still like Nintendo and agree with what they are saying, but I guess not if you're a fanboy.
Adam @ May 21st 2008 2:25PM
Greenpeace and any said group that points out the errors of others in what they do are sending the WRONG message. I live in Olympia, WA. one of THE most (if not one of the top) green states who looks after our beautiful land. Living in the town (Which is the college town of Evergreen State College, look it up) with a vast majority of "greeners" I hear this sort of stuff all the time.
Im not saying we should keep dumping and harming, but speading there message and information in this way is not going to work. Want proof? look at the above comments. Telling people the things they were raised with (This american society) is wrong is going to be met with strong resistance no matter what the topic. Dumping old electronics or using toilet paper that ruins whole communities (Look into that aswell :) shouldnt be explained with doom and gloom tatics.
Try it, your an older well fit person. You go to the doctor and get a check up.
A) The good doctor tells you that even if you are fit and eat right everyday, your going to die in a few years. You use to many toxic products and live in a state where no body cares of anything. Because you drank coca cola you allow toxics in your body, because you are around an area where there might be smoke your lungs arent as sound as a newborn. Because you sinned (For mother earth and your body) you will die.
or
B)Your very healthy! keep eating right and working out and you could live to a very ripe old age! Try to cut back on anything that could release toxins in your living area and youll be alright!
Which bit of news would you want to hear? Yeah, its pretty selfish to think of only yourself, but the core message? DONT tell me whats wrong without an answer. Or at least a way to correct or help set straight.
I understand yeah, the earth is getting worse and we all have to do our part to help it. BUT, telling us everyday that we do wrong or the things we do are hurting something isnt going to get anyone in gear to help, its going to make that person more inclined not to care cause they dont see a problem, they see a nagging group of people who like to bitch. Again, refer to the comments above.
Want change greenpeace? start getting the goverments to inforce better laws on what goes into future products. These systems are already out, and there are a vast amount of people who wount get that memo and just toss their systems to the curb. The poisons ARE going to seep into the earth even if you scream your message till your blue in the face. Change the future not the present. Its like people are still bitching about loosing money in the 80's. Be positive, upbeat and friendly and you will pull more people to your cause.
Adam @ May 21st 2008 2:35PM
oh, forgot, sorry to DP
So, by Greenpeaces logic, we should all trade in our systems so Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo can replace our systems (That most of us invested a lot of money and time to) for greener electronics? Why stop there? I have an old Symphonic DVD/VCR player that im sure is killing my slowly with scary toxics and voodoo chemicals. Would they fix that too so that I could live maybe .5 years longer?
Howabout we stop buying . . .. . anything save food and we stop going outside (If we live in an area with factories or plants) so we can all stop harming the Earth, and ourselves. Sound good? How many toxins where in the camera needed to make that video? how many computers do they use to upkeep that website? Technology is part of humanity from its conception (Millions of years ago) to our end. Change the future before telling me that my way of living is wrong no matter what I do.
aplen22 @ May 21st 2008 3:53PM
That's right greenpeace! The lesson here is that Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft are evil corporations who care about nothing but the bottom line. Damn them for putting toxins in our consoles! Their gonna kill us all, just like Dell and Apple. You know what, damn them too, they don't care about our health, they just care about their bottom line too!
Oh and don't forget Ziploc and Te-fal! God, do they know what goes into their products? No they just care about profits! And what about Durex and Trojan. They just want us to have protected sex with their toxic products as well! My God, you mean to tell me pretty much everything in our daily life is toxic if you eat it? Someone should get RIM to make a Blackberry out of taco shells! That'll turn things around!
Does greenpeace do anything useful anymore?