Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition's "Tale of Two Systems" study compared the divergent ways America's top computer makers deal with the growing problem of hazardous "e-waste." The report, published Thursday, coincided with the start of a two-day meeting in Washington for manufacturers, retailers and government agents sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Dell and dozens of other companies pay subcontractors that rely on U.S. prisoners for low-cost recycling. Low-paid inmates handle cathode ray tubes and other unsafe byproducts of the U.S. technology industry.

Environmentalists and workers groups are demanding that companies build state-of-the-art recycling facilities in the United States and dispose of toxins with minimal impact on workers or the environment.

"We scream bloody murder when other countries use prison labor, yet here we are under our own noses seeing this becoming one of the fastest growing industries," said Ted Smith, executive director of the San Jose-based coalition.

Dell complies with worker safety standards mandated by the federal Occupational Safety & Health Administration, company spokesman Bryant Hilton said. He denied claims that Dell, a Wall Street darling because of its highly efficient computer manufacturing system, used prison labor simply to cut costs.

Round Rock, Texas-based Dell outsources recycling work to UNICOR, a self-sustaining corporation that uses prison laborers, part of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Washington-based UNICOR employs 1,100 convicts in recycling, paying them 20 cents to $1.26 per hour.

"It operates differently than a commercial recycler, but they meet the same criteria we'd put on any of our recyclers," Hilton said. "Our goal is to make recycling affordable and easy."

Lawrence M. Novicky, general manager of UNICOR's recycling business group, called SVTC's study "deeply flawed" and "disturbing."

Novicky questioned why SVTC profiled only two companies, noting that more than 500 manufacturers recycle electronics in the United States - and many feature equipment similar to that used by UNICOR.

"I can only conclude that this document was created to support preconceived positions, not to present the truth about how UNICOR is helping to both recycle millions of computers and give thousands of people needed technical skills and a new chance to become productive members of society," Novicky wrote in an angry letter to Smith.

According to SVTC, some of the 240 recyclers at a penitentiary in Atwater toil in a "caged area" where they smash cathode ray tubes with hammers - a "primitive" system that exposes them to dangerous chemicals and broken glass. SVTC investigators said UNICOR would not provide air quality test results.

SVTC criticized UNICOR for forcing inmates to pack and unpack, stack and unstack recycled computers several times before the e-waste leaves the compound.

The report, published with the Computer TakeBack Campaign, praised HP's seven-year-old Micro Metallics plant in Roseville, Calif., similar to one in Nashville, Tenn.

Roseville encourages worker feedback, minimizes exposure to chemicals, and pays $8 to $13 per hour, plus benefits. Mechanical shredders replace hammers. Vacuums replace brooms, which are banned because they may raise dust containing lead or bromiated flame retardants.

Renee St. Denis, who manages the Roseville plant, said HP's $10 million investment in Roseville and Nashville made it more expensive than many recycling options. But she said it may help HP save money by avoiding fines states impose on polluters.

At least 25 states have introduced "end-of-life" management policies for computers, televisions and other electronics. California, Massachusetts and Minnesota have banned from local land mines many hazardous materials in computers.