The following article is taken from a paper produced by Greenpeace in 2006.

“In 2006, Greenpeace published the results of an X-ray examination of the materials found inside five leading brands of laptops (Acer, Apple, Dell, Hewlett Packard and Sony), revealing a laundry list of heavy metals and chemical compounds either known or suspected to pollute the environment and potentially cause health problems in humans. For example, the internal wiring of three out of the five laptops contained polyvinyl chloride, better known as PVC [source:Greenpeace Research Laboratories]. A known carcinogen, PVC exposure can lead to nerve damage, immune reactions and liver cancer [source: Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry].

The presence of brominated flame retardants (BFRs), found in the cooling mechanisms of all of the tested laptops, was cause for more alarm. Bromine-based chemical compounds may be carcinogenic to humans and have triggered thyroid problems, neurobehavioral disorders, liver tumors and immune system problems in test rats and mice”.

At Secure Data Recycling we do not believe that using your notebook is dangerous, but as we have mentioned before, ensuring that it is disposed of properly at the end of it’s life is very important.