SAN DIEGO – Assembly Member Lori Saldaņa (D-San Diego) introduced legislation Wednesday that would require manufacturers of electronic equipment to phase out the use of hazardous materials in all electronic devices sold in California by 2008.

Saldaņa said that, while current state law requires the phase-out of toxic substances in electronic devices with a video display, her assembly bill, AB 2202, expands the prohibition to include any electronic or battery-operated device.

"We know that the manufacturers of these products are able to produce them without including harmful toxic materials," Saldaña said "I believe California deserves to be included among the markets that receive this cleaner stream of consumer electronics."

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), about 70 percent of the toxic heavy metals found in landfills come from electronic waste. California alone generates about 500,000 tons of electronic waste annually, much of which contain heavy metals and other toxic substances posing serious threats to public health.

If they make their way from landfills into the environment through groundwater or other means, the combination of lead, mercury, cadmium and hexavalent chromium currently used in the manufacture of electronic consumer goods can cause serious damage to the nervous system, the kidneys and reproductive system, as well as promote birth defects, developmental disabilities and some kinds of cancer.

Mark Murray, Executive Director of Californians Against Waste, the organization sponsoring the bill, said that manufacturers need to take responsibility for phasing out the use of toxic materials in consumer electronics.

"Cell phones, IPODs, computers and many other modern electronic devices have a useful life of maybe a year or two before they become obsolete," Murray said. "It doesn't make sense to use hazardous materials in these disposable devices."

Saldaņa noted that, effective July 1st of this year, the European Union will require manufacturers to phase out the use of hazardous materials in all consumer electronics.

"It doesn't make sense to eliminate these materials from only a portion of the products sold in California," Saldaña said. "We should be the nation's leader in eliminating the use of these toxins before any electronics hit the state's markets or landfills."