hi,I'm looking at purchasing a saitek joystick but after seeing that the USB cord has this label on it I'm a little worried about this. I mean kids touch and play with this stuff I don't think you want to put lead in a game controller's cord.http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/73434.jpg

Oh, fun fun :|

"For your information, very small amounts of lead and cadmium are addedto enhance insulation (for U/L approval) as well as pliability.Withoutthe lead and cadmium, the cables would become more brittle and lessresistant to fires. You will probably find that most, if not all thepower cords, extension cords, DVD, stereo, and video connectors onalmost all the appliances in your house contain no less lead orcadmiumthan our products. "--------------------------------------------------------------------I guess my fate is sealed, I'm a home theater junkie and Ive touched and handled many A/v cords. If all those cords have lead in them then well... :-roll

>-------------------------------------------------------------------->I guess my fate is sealed, I'm a home theater junkie and Ive>touched and handled many A/v cords. If all those cords have>lead in them then well... :-rollI think that perhaps the government of California are too 'liberal' in there applications of such dire warnings. (oh I love the pun in that sentence :-hah)Translation of the above: California is too paraniod :)

We have a law in CA, "Proposition 65", that requires the following notice.... "This area contains a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm" on all business premises that contain listed chmicals, and a similar warning on products that contain such chemicals.The problem is that the action levels are so low that every business has a prop 65 sign up, and virtually every product should have a warning label, so the 'warning' function of the law is worthless.The levels are so low, in fact, that some chemicals which are essential to good health have to be warned about as health hazards at levels lower than we need to survive.Richard

Well I purchased the joystick (Saitek cyborg evo for anyone wondering) and sure enough the label was there. It is a well built joystick though, nice and sturdy. Looks like it's built to last. Should I really worry about the label that much? Ive washed my hands 3 times so far lol. (The 3 times Ive had to touch the cord)Andrew

No, not at all. The levels of lead and cadmium even in the metal interior parts of the cable are far less than the safe exposure limits. The amounts that might be found on the outside of the plastic insulation are below the detectable limits of all but the most sensitive equipment. Your toddlers could chew on the cable without health effects (Not that I'd recomend it!) The warning label is an absurd by-product of our tree-hugger legislature.Richard

It's called "covering one's six"; here's another example: warning found on bags of peanuts: caution; this package contains peanuts.For those who have a few years under their belt: remember playing with toy soldiers which were made of lead? Brightly painted(lead based?) and no warning labels. Plastic was rare and expensive back then.

I think California should consider labeling products that contain DHMO. This is one of the most lethal chemicals out there and everyone should be aware of it.http://www.dhmo.org/:-)

Thanks, chad... that;s a great site - though I think someone has a leeeeetle too much time on his hands.:-)Richard

Quite. I notice that my beer this evening is only 13.2% v/v CH3CH.OH - should I be concerned that the vast majority of it is therefore dihydrogen monoxide?A ban? I'm all in favour of it. Let's have beers labelled "absolute ethanol" :-) (which, I note from the Sigma catalogue also contains minute traces of lead as well as arsenic).Ah.. the culture of litigation lives, breathes, and reproduces uncontrollably in the good Ol' US of A.Cheers,Paulhttp://www.strontiumdog.plus.com/sbird.jpgwww.BAVirtual.co.uk[p]Officially licenced by British Airways plc for use of name and logo[/p]

Paul:"Let's have beers labelled "absolute ethanol" (which, I note from the Sigma catalogue also contains minute traces of lead as well as arsenic)."You can buy lead free Ethanol - I use it in measuring the lead content of unleaded gas. It is, however, "not cheap" :-(Richard

Some of my favorite stupid labels:Superman Cape: This cape does not enable user to fly.Sleeping Medicine: Warning- may cause drowsiness.Hairdryer: Do not use while sleeping.Odd, huh?Jason :-wave

We once had a gasoline powered lawnmower (several acres of lawn...) that had dire warnings on it about not only the blades being sharp and not to crawl under the machine while they were moving but also about internal combustion engines using flamable fuels which can catch fire.

Noted on a recently purchased domestic clothes iron" WARNING : This equipment is hot when switched on" . I rather thought that was the whole point of it. Don't worry about the Saitek - I've got one and ,when I last looked I was still breathing.Dave( in the UK -also now starting to show signs of paranoia- The UK not me - I hope)