Congratulations!
You have just purchased a TCO'99 approved and labelled product! Your choice has provided you with a product developed for professional use. Your purchase has also
contributed to reducing the burden on the environment and also to the further development of environmentally adapted electronics products.
Why do we have environmentally labelled computers?
In many countries, environmental labelling has become an established method for encouraging the adaptation of goods and services to the environment. With the growing
manufacture and usage of electronic equipment throughout the world, there is a recognized concern for the materials and substances used by electronic products with
regards to their eventual recycling and disposal. By proper selection of these materials and substances, the impact on the environment can be minimized.
There are also other characteristics of a computer, such as energy consumption levels, that are important from the viewpoints of both the work (internal) and natural
(external) environments. Electronic equipment in offices is often left running continuously, resulting in unnecessary consumption of large amounts of energy and additional
power generation. From the standpoint of carbon dioxide emissions alone, it is vital to save energy.
What does labelling involve?
The product meets the requirements for the TCO'99 scheme which provides for international and environmental labelling of personal computers and/or displays. The labelling
scheme was developed as a joint effort by the TCO (The Swedish Confederation of Professional Employees), Svenska Naturskyddsforeningen (The Swedish Society for Nature
Conservation) and Statens Energimyndighet (The Swedish National Energy Administration).
Approval requirements cover a wide range of issues: ecology, ergonomics, emission of electrical and magnetical fields, energy consumption and electrical safety.
Ecological criteria impose restrictions on the presence and use of heavy metals, brominated and chlorinated flame retardants, and other substances. The product must be
prepared for recycling and the manufacturing site(s) shall be certified according to ISO14001 or EMAS registered.
Energy requirements include a demand that the system unit and/or display, after a certain period of inactivity, shall reduce its power consumption to a lower level in one or
more stages. The length of time to reactivate the system unit shall be reasonable for the user.
Labelled products must meet strict environmental demands, for example, in respect of the reduction of electrical and magnetical fields as well as work load and visual
ergonomics.
Below you will find a brief summary of the ecological requirements met by this product. The complete ecological criteria document can be found at TCO Development's
website
http://www.tcodevelopment.com
or may be ordered from:
TCO Development
SE-114 94 STOCKHOLM, Sweden
Fax: +46 8 782 92 07
E-mail: [email protected]
Information regarding TCO'99 approved and labelled products may also be obtained at
http://www.tcodevelopment.com
Ecological requirements
Flame retardants
Flame retardants may be present in printed wiring board laminates, cables, and housings. Their purpose is to prevent, or at least to delay the spread of fire. Up to 30% by
weight of the plastic in a computer casing can consist of flame retardant substances. Many flame retardants contain bromine or chlorine, and these flame retardants are
chemically related to PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls). Both the flame retardants containing bromine or chlorine and the PCBs are suspected of giving rise to health effects,
including reproductive damage in fish-eating birds and mammals, due to the bio-accumulative
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processes when not disposed of in accordance with strict standards for
disposal.
TCO'99 requires that plastic components weighing more than 25 grams shall not contain flame retardants with organically bound bromine or chlorine. Flame retardants are
allowed in the printed wiring board laminates due to the lack of commercially available alternatives.
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