Flame retardants in devices, mobile phone contact, screen blue light, fitness trackers and e-waste.
15 chemicals in this category
Antimony trioxide is used as a flame retardant synergist in the plastic casings of electronic devices — it is combined with halogenated flame retardants to achieve required flammability ratings. It is present in the h…
A lightweight metal valued for its exceptional stiffness and thermal properties in electronics whose dust causes berylliosis — an irreversible and potentially fatal chronic lung disease — primarily in manufacturing an…
Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are a group of chemicals added to plastics in consumer electronics, printed circuit boards, and casings to slow fire spread. The most significant groups are polybrominated diphenyl e…
Cadmium is used in nickel-cadmium (NiCd) rechargeable batteries, as a stabiliser and pigment in plastics used in electronic casings, and in thin-film cadmium telluride (CdTe) solar panels. It is an IARC Group 1 carcin…
A critical component of lithium-ion batteries in smartphones, laptops, and electric vehicles, cobalt creates serious health risks for artisanal mining communities in the DRC and e-waste recycling workers, with environ…
Beyond the well-known polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs — already profiled), electronic device casings contain a range of additional halogenated flame retardants — most prominently tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), h…
The transparent conducting coating on virtually every touchscreen and LCD display, indium tin oxide dust causes a severe and progressive occupational lung disease in screen manufacturing workers, with growing concern …
Lead-tin solder was the standard method of attaching electronic components to circuit boards for decades. While the EU RoHS Directive phased out lead solder in most consumer electronics from 2006, exempt categories (m…
Lead has been used in electronics for decades — primarily as tin-lead solder on circuit boards, as lead oxide in cathode ray tube (CRT) glass, and in lead-acid batteries. Although RoHS restrictions have largely elimin…
Mercury sealed inside fluorescent tubes, energy-saving bulbs, and LCD backlights poses a significant contamination and inhalation risk when broken or improperly disposed of, with particular hazard in enclosed spaces a…
Nickel is the most common cause of allergic contact dermatitis worldwide — affecting approximately 8–14% of women and 1–2% of men in developed countries. Electronic devices, smartphones, smartwatches, fitness trackers…
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are a family of brominated flame retardants added to foam furniture, mattresses, carpets, electronics, and vehicle components to slow fire spread. Banned or phased out across the…
Phthalates — particularly DEHP, DBP, and DINP — are widely used as plasticisers in PVC cable insulation and sheathing, making it flexible for the extreme bending and heat cycles cables endure. They are also found in s…
The flexible PVC insulation on electrical cables, charging cables, power adapters, and electronic device accessories requires plasticisers to remain pliable — and phthalates are the dominant plasticiser used in PVC ca…
The distinctive smell of new electronic devices — new phone, new laptop, new television — is produced by a complex mixture of volatile organic compounds off-gassing from plastics, adhesives, flame retardants, circuit …
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