HCL releasing carcinogens: Greenpeace

India's top IT manufacturer HCL has been accused by the NGO Greenpeace for releasing carcinogens (cancer causing substances) into the atmosphere.

The NGO in a report released today said that HCL laptops were found to contain heavy metals, lead, mercury, cadmium and brominated flame retardants (BFRs). The study was conducted in labs in Denmark and Britain.

Pranab Chandan Sinha a campaigner for Greenpeace said that BFRS are known carcinogens and accumulate in any room where electronic equipment run in large numbers.

He said that most IT manufacturers like HP, Dell, Essar , Lenovo , LG and Sony have agreed to phase out toxins from their machines.

Greenpeace added that clean manufacturing is a key to prevent toxins from being released into the atmosphere.The contry which is soon to be a hub for production of computer hardware does not even have a law regarding clean manufacturing standards or regarding e-waste.

Meanwhile, PTI reports Hours after the allegation, HCL Infosystems announced the launch of eco-efficient Notebook PCs in the country.

The company said in a statement it has introduced eco-efficient consumer and business notebooks that are completely safe for users and environment.