ACCORDING TO a leading French newspaper Liberation.fr, Apple’s Mac Pro computers emit a toxic odour containing cancer-causing chemicals. Therefore computer owners run the risk of contracting leukaemia (blood cancer) simply by using the computer. The newspaper further adds that the smell is the result of several toxic elements used in the manufacture of the devices, including the cancer-causing benzene .The newspaper has been warned by a national agency scientist that the smell, already detected by many Mac Pro users on Apple forums, is actually toxic.

Apple has not denied the accusations. However, its spokesman, Bill Evans, told Macworld that the company had not found any evidence to support the claim but Apple would continue to investigate. According to posts on Apple’s message board, clients have been experiencing a foul and musty smell since December last – reminding them of a rotting carpet, or a new car and even cannabis. Many users complained of headaches, nausea and dizziness. However, benzene was not mentioned in the posts. One user mentioned that he had to use air fresheners to overcome the overwhelming smell. Another user linked the death of his pet bird to this toxin. “Recently, my pet bird died mysteriously; it had been caged near my MacPro which emitted the terrible smell for months," someone posting under the name MillerTimeHI said. "The vet said it was likely he inhaled something toxic!!! I was afraid it might be the Mac but didn’t know how to prove it and now reading this forum I’m convinced it is what killed my bird."

Although officially Apple says it has found no evidence of the toxins, its customer support staff have allegedly told some callers that the company was aware of the problem, which concerned Mac Pro computers manufactured before this year. The smell was found on the Mac Pro built before 2008, which was allegedly produced in China. AppleCare (in France) confirmed the problem but it said it only concerned Mac Pros built before 2008 (without mentioning if it was manufactured in China, as suspected by users on the Apple forums). Apple doesn’t want to confirm which Mac Pro has posed this problem because it knows users could sue them for this reason. But some users on the company’s discussion boards have come up with their own solution. Some reports said that the protective resin coating on the circuit board caused the smell and disappeared after the initial "burn-in" period. Some said that they removed the small plastic strips from the side door of the computer case, to fix the problem.

Liberation, which has a daily circulation of about 130,000 copies, reported Apple France as saying its engineers were working on the problem. Apple’s public relations team usually refuses to acknowledge reported faults in its products. Apple did nothing since they came to know of this problem, which may be traced to the beginning of 2007. Apple has to officially come out with a statement soon, however.