By Janet Raloff
New computer models come out so frequently that the one you just bought seems obsolete the moment you get it home. This quick obsolescence encourages frequent purchases and creates a large, constant flow of computer systems into landfills. A new study demonstrates that this waste stream could be shedding lead into the environment.
The picture tubes in televisions and computer monitors employ lead-impregnated glass. This heavy metal shields viewers from most of the X rays generated when electrons collide with light-emitting phosphors to produce images. In color sets, the unit’s face panel is fused to the funnel-shaped body in a process using extra lead. The fused glass is called frit.