China will set up three centers to combat electronic pollution, said the Ministry of Information Industry (MII) in Beijing on Sunday.

The three centers, all under electronics research institutes supervised by the MII, will be responsible for testing electronic products as well as conducting research on standards, energy saving, product recycling and disposal.

Mobile phones, for example, contain heavy metals such as lead and beryllium, as well as bromide used as a flame retardant in the circuit boards, all of which are potentially dangerous for humans.

The cadmium contained in a single mobile phone battery can contaminate about 60,000 liters of water.

The new centers will implement the government's Management Methods for Controlling Pollution by Electronic Information Products.

The regulations which took effect on March 1 this year -- China's first green regulations in the electronic sector -- are intended to enhance environmental protection by reducing or eliminating certain toxic and hazardous substances in electronic products.

China is expected to issue a new regulation in August requiring businesses to guarantee toxic substances will not leak from their devices. The nation will introduce standards on non-lead soldering at the end of the year.

(Xinhua News Agency July 16, 2007)