Green Circuit Boards: The Lead-Free Computer Companies / News Posted by nita on Jan 11, 2008 - 10:43 AM Siemens is banning pollutant materials from its electronic components and computers. As reported in the research magazine Pictures of the Future, the company is replacing pollutants such as lead and bromine in its circuit boards with materials that are more environmentally acceptable. In addition to other applications, the environmentally friendly components are being used in a special industrial PC that also consumes a minimum amount of energy and is 90-percent recyclable. Circuit boards hold processors, which are central components of electronic devices. Processors can be found in coffee machines, computer tomographs, and even power plant control centers. The boards contain pollutants, including lead — a substance Siemens has been voluntarily removing from its products for several years now. In 2006 a directive was issued by the European Union that bans lead in many electronic devices, which is why researchers at Siemens Corporate Technology in Berlin continue to work on optimizing production of lead-free soldered circuit boards. Over the long-term, Siemens is also seeking to go beyond legal requirements by replacing flame retardants containing bromide, because such materials can release cancer-causing substances in the event of a fire. The company is replacing the pollutants as much as possible with phosphorous organic compounds that pose less risk in terms of health, but nevertheless also prevent smoldering fires from occurring in the event of a short circuit. Fujitsu Siemens Computers has already installed such low-pollutant elements in a special PC it manufactures, and all components in the “green PC” produced by Siemens or commissioned by the company are guaranteed to be free of lead and bromine. The computer, which is produced for major customers, also consumes very little energy — in some cases less than that required by a conventional 60-watt light bulb. It’s also nearly completely recyclable. The eco-PCs have been a big success in Scandinavia especially, not least due to the fact that the Nordic Swan environmental certificate now used there has very strict requirements, and the green PC is currently the only computer in the world that can meet them Read Here [1] This article comes from ICE Society   http://www.icesociety.org/ The URL for this story is:   http://www.icesociety.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=77 Links in this article   [1] http://w1.siemens.com/innovation/en/news_events/innovationnews/innovationnews_articles/e_21_ino_0733_2.htm