The furore surrounding the hazardous substances found in the Apple iPhone stepped up yesterday after US environmental group the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) announced it is initiating legal action against the company.

In a statement the group, which campaigns against hazardous chemicals, said that the level of phthalates found in the phone by Greenpeace are in violation of Californian law. Under the State's law, products that can expose people to phthalates or other chemicals that are reproductive toxins or carcinogens must carry a warning label.

"There is no reason to have these potentially hazardous chemicals in iPhones " said Michael Green, executive director of CEH. "We expect Apple to reformulate its products to make them safer from cradle to grave, so they don't pose a threat to consumers, workers or the environment."

Under Californian law, Apple now has 60 days before the lawsuit is formally launched to address the group's concerns.

The legal action came as Apple attempted to downplay the implications of the Greenpeace report which revealed the iPhone contained hazardous PVC and BFR substances that had been removed from some other phones on the market.

In a short statement Apple reiterated its commitment to eliminating PVC and BFRs from products by the end of next year and insisted that "like all Apple products worldwide, iPhone complies with RoHS [the restriction on hazardous substances directive], the world's toughest restrictions on toxic substances in electronics".