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Environmental Group Threatens iPhone Lawsuit

Tuesday, October 16th, 2007 at 9:20 AM - by

On Monday the environmental activist group Greenpeace issued a report stating that Apple's iPhone contains toxic chemicals. Now the California-based environmental group, Center for Environmental Health, is threatening the Cupertino-based company with a lawsuit based on the Greenpeace report.

The private organization claims Apple is selling the combination iPod and smart phone in violation of California law. The law in question, Proposition 65, requires companies to warn consumers that it is exposing them to certain levels of specific chemicals.

In this case, Center for Environmental Health claims that the Greenpeace report shows the iPhone includes phthalate levels that are above the Proposition 65 threshold.

The group has given Apple a 60-day notice of the violation, after which it can file a lawsuit against the company.

Center for Environmental Health spokesperson, Caroline Cox, commented "Basically, what we're saying in our notice of violation is that [the iPhone] exposes a user to a level above" Proposition 65 limits.

The group is hoping to negotiate a settlement with Apple instead of going to court. In this case, the company wants Apple to agree to recall every iPhone already sold and to post a warning on the packaging for future iPhone sales until the chemicals are completely removed from the product.

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daemon said:

member since 17 May 2007 with 344 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Tue Oct 16, 2007 10:13 am

I'm confused, aren't all cell phones made of similar material?

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Bosco said:

member since 03 Jun 2002 with 1002 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Tue Oct 16, 2007 10:59 am

Green people suck.

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Sir Harry Flashman said:

member since 08 Feb 2007 with 792 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Tue Oct 16, 2007 12:25 pm

daemon wrote:
I'm confused, aren't all cell phones made of similar material?

I would think that this is a concern in a cell phones, but not all cell phones are a concern to the status quo. If GreenPeace really cared they would have attacked the other targets as well, but I would bet that there is someone behind the curtain who wants to see the iPhone to fail. You can iPoo that if you want, but there must be a reason that the other brand are not named in the suit.

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daemon said:

member since 17 May 2007 with 344 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Tue Oct 16, 2007 12:28 pm

Sir Harry Flashman wrote:
daemon wrote:
I'm confused, aren't all cell phones made of similar material?

I would think that this is a concern in a cell phones, but not all cell phones are a concern to the status quo. If GreenPeace really cared they would have attacked the other targets as well, but I would bet that there is someone behind the curtain who wants to see the iPhone to fail. You can iPoo that if you want, but there must be a reason that the other brand are not named in the suit.

Maybe Greenpeace is pissed at Al Gore over the Nobel Prize and they're taking potshots.

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Bosco said:

member since 03 Jun 2002 with 1002 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Tue Oct 16, 2007 12:34 pm

daemon wrote:
Maybe Greenpeace is pissed at Al Gore over the Nobel Prize and they're taking potshots.

Maybe Apple put Greenpiece up to this so they'd continue to build street cred of the iPhone. I kinda want to go out and buy one now knowing that many environazis will be picking their nuts and dried apricots over this new danger.

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ctopher said:

member since 25 Aug 2006 with 134 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Tue Oct 16, 2007 1:07 pm

Read the Greenpeace report. They claim that similar tests of Nokia and Sony phones did not have the substances found in the iPhone.

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daemon said:

member since 17 May 2007 with 344 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Tue Oct 16, 2007 1:28 pm

Bosco wrote:

Maybe Apple put Greenpiece up to this so they'd continue to build street cred of the iPhone. I kinda want to go out and buy one now knowing that many environazis will be picking their nuts and dried apricots over this new danger.

That's a level of cynism normally reserved for Microsoft around here.

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A guest said: (hide)

Tue Oct 16, 2007 2:20 pm

How credible can the lawsuit be if the iphone meets federal standards? Hell, if they win, just pull the iphone from CA shelves.

Also, they want a recall of all iphones already sold AND a warning on the box? Shouldn't they be pushing for a moratorium on iphone production until the harmful compounds are removed.

This doesn't make sense. Why not release an 'update' to itunes that would warn iphone users of the possible danger the next time they sync? This way, vast amounts of resources aren't wasted on returning/replacing iphones.

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Sir Harry Flashman said:

member since 08 Feb 2007 with 792 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Tue Oct 16, 2007 3:20 pm

The News at Noon had a segment about how surgeons are using iPods to help cure cancer and do procedures. There are videos and such that the doctors can put on iPods and reference when making patient rounds or preparing for surgeries.

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Bosco said:

member since 03 Jun 2002 with 1002 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Wed Oct 17, 2007 12:25 am

daemon wrote:
That's a level of cynism normally reserved for Microsoft around here.

Cynicism is when you feel jerked around and resent that you can see through others' intentions. This is different. I think Apple is genius, and seriously, I want an iPhone more now. Not enough to switch to AT&T, but definitely enough that when I make my next visit to the Apple Store, I'm picking up an iPod Touch and having "^%$# Greenpiece" engraved on it.

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A guest said: (hide)

Wed Oct 17, 2007 5:13 am

While Bosco and his friends denigrate Greenpeace one wonders does the man have children? Capitalism needs the reins of environmentalists and law-makers with conscience to avoid or postpone its inevitable fall. Pointing to weaknesses can only help to strengthen the iPod and iPhone in the long run and Apple knows this otherwise the venerable Steve wouldn't have responded the way he did to Greanpeace's previous report.

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Bosco said:

member since 03 Jun 2002 with 1002 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Wed Oct 17, 2007 9:52 am

Hey Guest, the founder of Greenpeace denigrates Greenpeace on a regular basis, so I'm in good company. I like to think of it as having grown up. You can be generally concerned about a clean environment without endorsing the silly tactics of groups that claim to speak for it or wetting your pants every time some study comes out about invisible this or that in whatever. </soapbox>

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A guest said: (hide)

Wed Oct 17, 2007 10:22 pm

Greenpeace what about the Al Gore-promoted fluorescent bulbs that contain levels of M E R C U R Y ?

Go to

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,268747,00.html

and read Steven Milloy's "Light Bulb Lunacy" — note: it's on a Fox-News' web site !

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