Toxic game consoles?

November 28, 2007

In our most recent Uncover story, Nintendo and Microsoft are put under the microscope by Greenpeace for toxic chemicals used in manufacturing their game consoles.

Eighteen leading electronics companies were ranked on a 10-point scale, with Nintendo being the first and only company to score zero.

The creators of Mario and Luigi provided no information to consumers on the substances it uses in manufacturing or on its plans to cut hazardous materials. Those aren’t the Mario Brothers I grew up with! And my folks thought playing the cutting-edge game Pitfall on Intellivision was bad for my health.

With all the recent recalls of toys with lead in them, do holiday shoppers really need any extra worries at this point when shopping for the gamers in their family?

Anyhow, the chemical culprits to be aware of are a vinyl known as PVC as well as fire retardants that can be a hazard when released into the environment.

Of course, your children could be a hazard when released into the environment this holiday season if they don’t get their Xbox or Wii from Santa.

-FRANCIS SMITH, Special Publications Assistant Editor

Sphere: Related Content

Comments

Got something to say?





  • Law

  • Business

  • Archives

  • Visit Eye on Annapolis

    Check out our blog on the legislative session, Eye on Annapolis.
  • Categories

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

  • Jacki Pearlman: Unfortunately, the game will not live up to it’s hype. I am a diehard Redskins fan after being...
  • Isolde: Anybody remember GreedyAssociates.com? That’s basically a forum for ads and political weirdos now. Why?...
  • Liz Farmer: Thanks for chiming in guys. Ed, you are exactly right. I did not include this in my original post but...
  • Rick Rigini: Did you ever read the children’s book Norman the Doorman?
  • Ed Waters Jr.: In many articles, it seems the writers tend to overlook the fact that some people need an SUV (or...

On Commenting

We ask that our readers follow a few guidelines, noted below.

Please do not post any personal attacks, profanity, spam or other advertisements — they will be removed. Also, please post using only one name or pseudonym, as this consistency helps establish a sense of community. We will delete posts if they are signed with different names but originate from the same IP or email address. And if you’re going to comment using a proper name, please make it your own. Deliberate misrepresentations will be removed.