Cell Phones Toxic To Humans and Earth

Greetings, ATS!

Here's an interesting article. Apparently cell phones pose a risk to people and the environment.

The pollution produced by cell phones can be hard to locate, and it’s not just the fault of the iPhone 5’s much maligned map app. From production to disposal, cell phones contaminate the environment. A recent study by the Ecology Center of Ann Arbor, Michigan and ifixit.com dissected 36 different models of cell phone and found that every one of them contained at least one of the toxic elements: lead, bromine, chlorine, mercury or cadmium.

“Even the best phones from our study are still loaded with chemical hazards,” said the research director of the Ecology Center and founder of HealthyStuff.org, where the results were published, Jeff Gearhart, in a press release.

“These chemicals, which are linked to birth defects, impaired learning and other serious health problems, have been found in soils at levels 10 to 100 times higher than background levels at e-waste recycling sites in China. We need better federal regulation of these chemicals, and we need to create incentives for the design of greener consumer electronics.”

Altogether, 1,106 individual phones were disassembled and tested by the team at ifixit.com using X-ray fluorescence, a technique that bombards an object with radiation then measures the radiation that is re-released by the object. Specific materials can be identified by the characteristic signature of radiation they re-release.

The biggest pollution and health risk from the phones comes in the mining of the minerals used in the phones, the production of the devices, and their subsequent disposal or recycling.

“We’re not making any claim that there’s any in-use exposure hazard from these mobile phones,” Gearhart told the Detroit Free Press.

The mining of some of the tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold used in cell phone production has been associated with exploitation and brutality in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, said Gearhart in a press release. Once the life of the phone is over, many of them are shipped to China, India, Pakistan, Vietnam, and the Philippines where the hands-on recycling process there exposes workers to dangerous chemicals, according to the release.

I'll admit, this never occurred to me. While the researchers are not claiming that the use of cell phones is dangerous, it brings back memories of the rumors about brain tumors and the like.

"We need better federal regulation of these chemicals, and we need to create incentives for the design of greener consumer electronics.”

reply to post by smyleegrl


Yeah, I think it goes without saying that big business has no concern for the populace as all it cares about is making a dollar.
All the recent news on Monsanto and the GMO Corn and now this, add to that the fluoride in the water supply
the toxins in the air from Petrol fumes, its obvious that we are all dying a slow death all so these big businesses can turn a profit.
Well when we are all dead lets see how much profit the 1% make trading with themselves.
Obviously 99% less.

reply to post by Ghostfreak1


Thanks for the tip. Although brain rumors puts an interesting twist on it!

All the severely poisonous chemicals America banned years ago....we never stopped making them and have been exporting them to 3rd world countries who've been spraying them all over their fields.

And America imports their food and it still ends up in American bellies.

All the previous bans on bad chemicals.....accomplished NOTHING.

I used to keep my mobile in my bra all the time.. But after reading this i stopped. Mobiles can be dangerous to humans and the earth alike.

One interesting case that can serve as an illustrative warning of the cancer-causing potential of cell phones is that of a young woman with no other predisposing risk factors for cancer who came down with multi-focal breast cancer. The case was revealed in the May issue of the Environmental Health Trust's newsletteri. As it turns out, the young lady had the curious habit of tucking her cell phone into her bra...

Two cancer specialists, Robert Nagourney and John West, concluded there was only one other possibility that might have directly contributed to her breast cancer. "We connected the dots," the patient said. And the dots―quite literally the pattern of the cancer, and distribution of the cancerous cells―lined up perfectly with the shape of her cell phone.

articles.mercola.com...

You would get the same results from any consumer electronics. It should not really be news.

The real question is what happens end of life.

Currently we export lots of it back to the third world for 'recycling' where the process is horrific to the local environment and the employees.

reply to post by justwokeup


That's the point of the article, that the disposal of the components is toxic.

Originally posted by smyleegrl
reply to post by justwokeup

 

That's the point of the article, that the disposal of the components is toxic.

Was simply pointing out the issue is a wider one than the focus of the article.

The manufacturer of an electronic device should have a means safely re-processing it before they are allowed to sell it. Its should be part of the manufacture cost reflected in the sticker price. If it applies to all its not anti-competitive.

Originally posted by justwokeup

Originally posted by smyleegrl
reply to post by justwokeup

 

That's the point of the article, that the disposal of the components is toxic.

Was simply pointing out the issue is a wider one than the focus of the article.

The manufacturer of an electronic device should have a means safely re-processing it before they are allowed to sell it. Its should be part of the manufacture cost reflected in the sticker price. If it applies to all its not anti-competitive.

edit on 7-10-2012 by justwokeup because: typo

This is 100% correct. Our governments have failed us by failing to legislate our protection. It won't be long before we manage to wipe ourselves from this earth.

Do we need to be careful what we use, eat, live with, yes. Do we need to find better ways to dispose of electronics? Yes.

However:

lead, bromine, chlorine, mercury or cadmium.

are all naturally occurring, they come from the earth, so returning them should not be considered to much of a boogie man. It sometimes seems to me that we act as if these things did not exist and co-exist with us before modern times. They are not toxic to earth, they are part of earth.

Originally posted by Iamschist
Do we need to find better ways to dispose of electronics? Yes.

No, we need to break the culture of disposable electronics. Cheap crap that is designed to break and fail instead of being designed to last. All these morons who think they aren't cool unless they go out and buy the latest Iphone.
Cars that rust instead of being made with stainless steel just so people will be forced to go buy new ones. Buying garbage from china because it's cheap.

Originally posted by Iamschist
Do we need to be careful what we use, eat, live with, yes. Do we need to find better ways to dispose of electronics? Yes.

However:

lead, bromine, chlorine, mercury or cadmium.

are all naturally occurring, they come from the earth, so returning them should not be considered to much of a boogie man. It sometimes seems to me that we act as if these things did not exist and co-exist with us before modern times. They are not toxic to earth, they are part of earth.

edit on 7-10-2012 by Iamschist because: (no reason given)

Thats true up to a point. However, whats harmless as a solid buried in the ground is not necessarily when inhaled as dust or entered into the water table.

The form and concentration of the substance is important.

The planet will be fine with all of it. However, the humans and other creatures living on it may be screwed royally depending on the details.

Originally posted by The Cusp

Originally posted by Iamschist
Do we need to find better ways to dispose of electronics? Yes.

No, we need to break the culture of disposable electronics. Cheap crap that is designed to break and fail instead of being designed to last. All these morons who think they aren't cool unless they go out and buy the latest Iphone.
Cars that rust instead of being made with stainless steel just so people will be forced to go buy new ones. Buying garbage from china because it's cheap.

I agree that the competitive drive to be the coolest with the latest is ridiculous. I also agree that greed driven planned obsolescence is a destructive thing.

Originally posted by justwokeup

Originally posted by Iamschist
Do we need to be careful what we use, eat, live with, yes. Do we need to find better ways to dispose of electronics? Yes.

However:

lead, bromine, chlorine, mercury or cadmium.

are all naturally occurring, they come from the earth, so returning them should not be considered to much of a boogie man. It sometimes seems to me that we act as if these things did not exist and co-exist with us before modern times. They are not toxic to earth, they are part of earth.

edit on 7-10-2012 by Iamschist because: (no reason given)

Thats true up to a point. However, whats harmless as a solid buried in the ground is not necessarily when inhaled as dust or entered into the water table.

The form and concentration of the substance is important.

The planet will be fine with all of it. However, the humans and other creatures living on it may be screwed royally depending on the details.

Yes these things are toxic to us and other life on this earth, That I did not dispute I did say we need to take care with having these things around us.