Toxic Fumes From Mac Pros?

Fanboi Killa writes "Apple is investigating damning claims, published in a leading French newspaper, that its computers emit a toxic odor containing chemicals including the cancer-causing benzene. Apple has not denied the accusations. Its spokesman, Bill Evans, told Macworld the company had not found any evidence to support the claim but Apple would continue to investigate. Posts on Apple's own discussion boards suggest the Mac maker knew about potentially toxic odors being linked to its computers as early as December last year."

Don't worry

It's just the smell of smug.

Re:Don't worry

Microsoft's response to "Mac vs PC" just got a hell of a lot sicker.

No, it was me. Sorry

I was in the Apple store when I was in Paris recently, and I let an SBD rip.

Re:Don't worry

It's just the smell of smug.

God help us all if someone gets an Apple computer anywhere near a Prius.

Re:Don't worry

What I didn't realise was that Apple was into the Cloud Computing model

Not MacBooks

If there's any truth to it, then I'm fairly sure this only applies to MacPros (see http://blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/?p=2319 [zdnet.com]).

Re:Not MacBooks

He didn't mean the MacBookPro (MBP), he meant Mac Pro, you know, the big desktop systems, one of these [apple.com].

Seems there might be something to the report, but it's too early to say for sure. If it's correct then the problem is most likely related to either a protective coating applied to the motherboard, or possible some plastic pieces on the inside of the case (my money would be on the coating though).

So, to re-iterate, this isn't talking about any of the laptops, this is just the desktops, and even then not any of the iMacs (at least only Mac Pros have reported this problem).

Mac Pro not MacBooks!

The article (and 'internets' hype) cleary state the problematic machines to be the Mac Pro (manufactured pre 2008)

Denied it? You bet.

Saying "Apple has not denied the allegations" is sensationalistic, and doesn't belong in the summary. They "found no evidence", which, logically, is as strong a denial as can possibly be made.

Re:Denied it? You bet.

Read the article -- the whole thing is sensational.

Even if the Greenpeace lab did detect chemicals with known health risks you still need to know the concentrations.

You can get a all sorts of poisonous fumes coming off of anything with silicon caulk -- like aquariums -- especially when they get warm. Good stuff like toluene and ethylbenzene -- just not in concentrations that can actually harm you.

I'm NOT trying to claim there is no problem. I'm just saying that there is nothing from the article to support that there IS a problem either -- just some anecdotes and a bit of scientifically illiterate journalism.

With the strong smells coming off some machines, it is worth running a few tests to make sure that whatever is being emitted is not coming off at dangerous concentrations. In the meantime, though, not much to see here.

Re:Denied it? You bet.

I seem to recall Greenpeace going after Apple in the past as well. Haven't they been trying to slam Apple for not being ecologically friendly for years now? Not saying there isn't a problem, just saying Greenpeace isn't exactly a neutral party. Maybe one of these problem systems should be sent off to a lab that really is neutral and can say for sure whether there's a problem or not.

Where and how well did they look?

``They "found no evidence", which, logically, is as strong a denial as can possibly be made.``

No, as strong a denial as can possibly be made is "That is incorrect. It is not true. Our products do not emit the fumes referred to."

All "found no evidence" means that where they looked, using their methods, they couldn't find the fumes.

I'm not saying they -didn't- launch a thorough investigation, but there's nothing in particular to indicate that they did, either. Certainly there's people with complaints.. unless they're all making things up, I suspect that their "[continued] investigation" will dig up some particular packaging material or electronics supplier that happened to have a bad batch.

Duh

I thought we'd known that Apples give off ethylene forever. What's one more gas?

Amazing Discovery

Source of the reality distortion field revealed!

further studies

Further studies show that the fumes also cause a false sense of self worth and belonging as well as an elitist attitude.

Wait...

The smell has been variously described as "new car smell", "musty", "rotting carpet" and even cannabis.

So, computer geeks smelled something musty, rotting, or something similar to pot. Uh, that's nothing new. They probably just need to clean up their rooms and smoke outside.

Re:Wait...

Maybe Mom won't let them smoke outside, you insensitive clod, so they are stuck in the basement. Besides, that awful burning thing in the sky is out there. I forget what they call it but it's fucking scary.

Congratulations, plastic is dirty

Wow, what a discovery...

Plastic is amongst the "dirtiest" compounds in manufacturing. They commonly contain plasticisers, colorants, residual monomers, oligomers and solvents, all of whom can, and most likely will evaporate. Depending on the choice of plastic, this is much, little, odourless or smelly.

It looks like only the mention of Apple Mac these days will get your news posted..

B.

Denying the Accusations?

Apple has not denied the accusations. Its spokesman, Bill Evans, told Macworld the company had not found any evidence to support the claim but Apple would continue to investigate

Would the author of the summary prefer if Apple denied the allegations without investigating the matter?

An apple a day keeps the doctor away?

Guess that one was misleading.

Unusual manufacture, or sensitive users?

I wonder if there is some particular manufacturing issue with certain mac pros, or are users primed to be unusually sensitive about their experience with expensive hardware? I ask because there doesn't seem to be anything unusual about the mac pro. Aluminum case, not much outgassing there, industry standard drives, RAM, chipset, chips, nothing there that isn't in 10s of millions of boring beige boxes. All the specific components, motherboard, PSU, etc. are presumably sourced from the same OEMs that manufacture for everybody else.

I can imagine that people would be more apt to notice galling details in a machine they paid over 2000 for, but I am hard pressed to believe that the mac pro is actually emitting any chemicals that numerous other machines wouldn't also be. PCB manufacturing isn't all puppies and roses, and everybody's PCBs are manufactured in essentially the same way.

Almost all plastics off-gas to some extent

Just about any polymer used in a modern consumer good is going to off-gas chemicals to SOME extent, over time (it's probably even worse with "environmentally friendly" plastics meant to more quickly degrade over time). Singling out Apple is this regard is just petty. I'm sure you could find just as much in any computer made by a French company (not that France is ever going to complain about THAT, though).

The dose is the poison

That's all. Soap-box science is fond of the "X contains Y, Y causes Z!" without considering the exposure, which is the absolute be-all and end-all of toxicology. As a rule of thumb, the air around you contains non-zero amounts of anything you claim to mention. Your computer mouse could quite possibly have a whole molecule of deadly hydrogen fluoride on it. This will not kill you.

100 spin points to Greenpeace for changing VOC from "volatile organic compound" to "volatile organic contaminant", by the way. It's nice to know that I can order in 99% pure bottles of "contaminant" from Sigma, or indeed that my air freshener is busily filling my surroundings with "contaminants".

Mind control!

Apple goods are infused with narcotic addictive fumes [today.com], so you'll KEEP ON BUYING THEM. And you can't complain under the NDA. Because Apple is EVIL.

Re:Journalistic Integrity

""My entire room smells bad and I have had to resort to a few air fresheners just to be able to work on it," one report read."

"I recently have had a bird die 'mysteriously' which was caged near my MacPro which has had the terrible smell for months. The vet said it was likely he inhaled something toxic!!!"

Bearing in mind that this is Greenpeace, I'd be more inclined to suspect unwashed hippie stink.