Greenpeace finds hazardous chemicals in consoles

Not content with prying open just the iPhone in its hunt for toxic components, Greenpeace has dismantled the three big game consoles to see what unpleasant materials they contain. The resulting report, "Playing Dirty," is out today. The upshot: The PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii didn't break any laws, but--as gamers will discover--they do contain dubious and arguably unnecessary chemicals.

The research reveals that the three consoles contain a mixture of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), phthalates, beryllium, and bromine. Bromine and beryllium are a health issue for workers mainly during disposal and recycling, while phthalates have the unwelcome honour of being linked to sexual reproduction problems--especially in male mammals. Not something that gaming geezers will want to hear.

While Greenpeace points out all three are making an effort, the results from the charity's research centre at the University of Exeter show all three console makers could be cleaner. Here's how each console fared:

PS3

• Contained some bromine-free circuit boards--the only console tested to receive that honour.

• However, it also had the highest level (13.8 percent) of bromine in a single component--the fan housing.

• Contained PVC, but not as much as the Xbox 360. The report points out the differences in PVC weren't huge.

Xbox 360

• The only console which Greenpeace found DINP phthalates in--bad news. They were found in the AV cable.

• It had the highest concentration of any phthalates--27.5 percent of a type called DEHP in a power cable coating.

• It also contained more PVC than the Wii and PS3.

• On the plus side, the housing materials had lower levels of brominated materials.

Wii

• Phthalates were much lower than in the PS3 and 360--unlike the other two, they didn't exceed EU laws limiting phthalate levels in toys.

• It also had the least amount of PVC overall.

• None of its electrical contacts contained beryllium--both the 360 and PS3 did.

The full report makes for interesting reading and is available here. The report's certainly a turnaround for Nintendo, which Greenpeace previously ranked bottom on its eco efforts because of a failure to disclose information.

The original article, "Greenpeace finds hazardous chemicals in PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii," was published on GameSpot's sister site SmartPlanet.com.