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Last 2006, there was a study released by independent scientists saying that Game consoles can cause Epilepsy among children and teenagers. But now GreenPeace released an even more alarming report about the use of manufacturers of hazardous materials in these said gadgets. The use of hazardous chemicals and materials in electronic products is widespread. Despite some recent improvements – a result of a combination of legal restrictions in some parts of the world, and voluntary action by companies – many devices still contain a variety of hazardous substances. These include chemicals which fall outside current legislative controls, as highlighted in recent studies on certain mobile phone and laptops . Some manufacturers, recognizing the health and environmental concerns arising from the presence of such substances throughout product lifecycles, are already starting to phase out certain hazardous substances and materials from their electronic products, including the use of all brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and the chlorinated plastic polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

Other companies have made commitments to eliminate or reduce their uses in the near future. Nevertheless, the presence of these and other hazardous substances is likely to be widespread in many electronic goods currently on the market. Games consoles represent one of the fastest growing markets in consumer electronics. Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo are the major manufacturers in this sector. Of these, Microsoft has made a commitment to eliminate the use of PVC and BFRs in its hardware by 2010 . Sony committed to phase out PVC and certain uses of BFRs by 2010, though only for its mobile products and not including game consoles other than the PlayStation Portable (PSP) .Nintendo very recently committed to eliminate PVC in its products, but failed to give a timeline for doing so .

To assess the progress of these manufacturers in eliminating these and other hazardous chemicals and materials from their products, and towards meeting their pledges, Greenpeace purchased and deconstructed one game console from each company in November 2007.

Manufacturer Console Country of purchase

• Microsoft Xbox 360 Elite UK
• Sony Playstation PS3 40Gb UK
• Nintendo Wii Netherlands

The consoles were dismantled at the Greenpeace Research Laboratories, based at the University of Exeter (UK). A wide selection of internal and external materials and components were subsequently analysed at our laboratory and at two independent laboratories. The analyses predominantly focused on those substances regulated under the European Union’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive (2005/84/EC), which prevents the use of lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium (VI) and certain BFRs in electrical and electronic equipment. Additional testing was carried out for certain other hazardous substances and materials, including PVC, the toxic phthalate plasticisers that it commonly contains, and beryllium-containing alloys. Summaries of the results from the various analyses are presented below:

• For all three consoles, all components that were tested appeared to comply with the EU RoHS Directive, in that a) no cadmium or mercury was detected in any material, b) lead and chromium, found in a fraction of all samples tested, were present at relatively low concentrations, and c)hexavalent chromium , the most toxic and regulated form of chromium, was not detected in any of the metallic components tested.

• However, just over half of all the analyzed components were found to contain bromine, at over 1% of the total composition of the material in almost all cases. Overall, bromine was identified in a similar fraction of the tested materials from each of the consoles, indicating continued widespread use of either additive or reactive forms of BFRs by all three manufacturers. The highest level (13.8%) was found in the fan housing from the PS3 console. All but two of the fifteen circuit boards tested contained high levels of bromine, with both ‘bromine-free’ materials coming from the PS3. One housing material from each of the Wii and PS3 consoles contained bromine at a high level, particularly the Wii (12.5%) and to a lesser extent the PS3 (0.3%), only trace levels were seen in equivalent materials from the XBox 360. However, the presence of the specific BFRs regulated under the RoHS Directive was not further investigated in the bromine-containing materials; therefore it cannot be confirmed whether all materials comply with the regulation for these chemicals. Nevertheless, all forms of BFRs (even those chemically-bound into polymers) can act as a significant source of toxic and persistent brominated pollutants during incineration or high temperature processing once these devices enter the waste stream.

• PVC was identified in a number of flexible materials (wire and cable coatings) from all consoles, with only small differences between the consoles. The use of PVC in these materials requires the use of plasticisers or softeners, and in many cases these included phthalate esters (phthalates). Very high levels of these were present in three materials (two from the XBox 360 and one from the PS3) making up 10.6 to 27.5% of the total weight of the materials. Although the use of PVC and phthalates is not currently regulated under RoHS, it is noteworthy that the XBox 360 and PS3 contained very high levels of two phthalates not permitted in components of toys or childcare articles sold in the EU (game consoles are not currently defined as toys under EU regulations). One of the phthalates, DEHP, is classified as toxic to reproduction: category 2 , due to its ability to interfere with sexual development in mammals, especially males.The other phthalate identified in the XBox 360, DiNP, is also prohibited from use in toys and childcare articles if they can be placed in the mouth by children.

• The presence of beryllium-containing alloys in two components from each of the XBox 360 and PS3 consoles (though not in equivalent materials from the Wii console) raises additional concerns. Despite the recognised hazardous nature of these materials, (see page 16) beryllium is not currently regulated under RoHS.

• While a diverse range of materials was investigated, including many of the larger materials such as plastic casings and circuit boards, this study was able to analyze only a fraction of the numerous different components and materials that make up these complex electronic devices. Without extensive additional testing, it is not possible to verify whether all materials used in these devices comply with EU regulations.

These results not only show the presence of hazardous chemicals and materials in many components from all consoles, but also demonstrate the feasibility of substituting them in these devices. For almost all types of material found to contain either bromine, PVC, phthalates or beryllium, examples of equivalent materials, free of such chemicals and used for similar purposes were identified in one or more of the consoles tested. In other words, while there were many similarities in the types and amounts of hazardous chemicals and materials used in the various components tested, there was evidence that each of the manufacturers had avoided or reduced uses of individual substances in certain materials within their console. In the Nintendo Wii, for example, beryllium alloys were not identified in electrical contacts, and the use of PVC and phthalates was found to be relatively limited. At the same time, the Sony Playstation PS3 included examples of ‘bromine-free’ circuit boards, and the Microsoft XBox 360 had lower usage of brominated materials within housing materials.

The types and amounts of hazardous chemicals and materials in the tested components of the game consoles were, in many cases, similar to those reported in 2007 for some equivalent materials from laptop computers, including the widespread presence of bromine,

PVC and phthalates among the materials tested. Although not directly comparable for most of the types of materials tested in both studies, bromine and PVC were more frequently identified in tested materials from the consoles, including bromine in printed wiring boards (PWBs) and housing materials. For Sony, the only brand in this study that manufactures both game consoles and laptop computers, materials tested from the PS3 console included a greater proportion containing either PVC or bromine (including bromine in the PWBs), and a higher phthalate concentration in a single material, compared to equivalent materials tested from the Vaio TX laptop computers.This study indicates that those materials tested from all three consoles appear to comply with the EU RoHS Directive in terms of regulated heavy metals. However, all consoles still contain a number of hazardous chemicals and materials, including PVC and BFRs which give rise to concerns for both environmental contamination and human exposure during manufacture, use and disposal of such products. The manufacturers of the products studied in this investigation will clearly have to make further significant improvements if they are to meet their current pledges on specific hazardous chemicals and materials (where these have been made) and to make the necessary changes that will ultimately see all hazardous substances ‘designed-out’ of their full product ranges. (Source www.Greenpeace.org/consoles)

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