Toxic Toys? Electronics
by Allison Sloan
Reprinted from Mothers & Others' Shopper’s Guide to Healthier, Greener Toys 


Before you purchase that new electronic game or toy, or even that computer or television your child’s been begging for, you should know this: Electronic products can be made of over 1,000 different chemicals and metals, many of which are toxic, the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (SVTC) reports. Plastic computer casings, for example, are likely to be treated with hazardous brominated fire retardants; circuit boards can contain toxic cadmium; and switches may contain poisonous mercury, SVTC notes, adding that computer screens and television sets typically contain between four and eight pounds of lead. Although there’s little evidence that these toxins could pose a hazard to a child using electronic equipment, these chemicals can harm workers in manufacturing facilities and residents in surrounding communities if discharged into air or groundwater. Accidental discharges have occurred, and the electronics industry is responsible for a significant number of Superfund toxic waste sites as a result.

Electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure is also a consideration. Cell phones, computers, televisions and other electronic gadgets emit EMF's, invisible force fields whose possible health effects, from headaches to sleep disruption to cancer, are the subject of heated debate. Children may be especially vulnerable to cell phone EMF's, since their brains and skulls are still developing.

A precautionary approach is best, making sure your child has plenty of alternatives to being "wired," and turning computers and cell phones off when not in use. Also, recycling or, if possible, upgrading old computers rather than buying new are good ways to reduce a computer’s impact on the waste stream. It’s also important to keep in mind that electronic games and toys contribute to battery waste (better to use rechargeable batteries).