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Regulatory Information cont.
NUTEK
Naturskydds
föreningen
Närings- och teknikutvecklingsverket
SEMKO
scheme, which provides for international environmental
labelling of personal computers. The labelling scheme was
developed as a joint effort by the TCO (The Swedish
Confederation of Professional Employees),
Naturckyddsföreningen (The Swedish Society for Nature
Conservation), and NUTEK (The National Board for
Industrial and Technical Development in Sweden), and
SEMKO AB (an international certification agency).
The requirements cover a wide range of issues:
environment, ergonomics, usability, emission of electrical
and magnetic fields, energy consumption and electrical and
fire safety.
The environmental demands concern, among other things,
restriction on the presence and use of heavy metals,
brominated and chlorinated flame retardants, CFCs
(freons), and chlorinated solvents. The product must be
prepared for recycling, and the manufacturer is obliged to
have an environmental plan, which must be adhered to in
each country where the company implements its
operational policy.
The energy requirements include a demand that the
computer 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
computer shall be reasonable for the user.
Labelled products must meet strict environmental
demands, for example, in respect of the reduction of electric
and magnetic fields, along with physical and visual
ergonomics and good usability.
The following is a brief summary of the environmental
requirements met by this product. The complete
environmental criteria document may be ordered from:
TCO Development Unit
Linnegatan 14, S-11494 Stockholm, Sweden
FAX +46-8 782 92 07
E-mail (Internet): [email protected]
Current information regarding TCO’95 approved and
labelled products may also be obtained on the Internet
using the address: http://www.tco-info.com/
TCO’95 is a co-operative project between:
Environmental requirements
Brominated flame retardants are present in printed circuit
boards, cabling, casings, and housings, and are added to
delay the spread of fire. Up to 30% of the plastic in a
computer casing can consist of flame-retardant substances.
These are related to another group of environmental toxins,
PCBs, and are suspected of giving rise to similar harm,
including reproductive damage in fish-eating birds and
mammals. Flame retardants have been found in human
blood, and researchers fear that they can disturb fetus
development.
Bio-accumulative1 TCO’95 demands require that plastic
components weighing more than 25 grams must not
contain flame retardants with organically bound chlorine or
bromine.
Lead can be found in picture tubes, display screens, solder,
and capacitors. Lead damages the nervous system and in
higher doses causes lead poisoning. The relevant bio-
accumulative TCO’95 requirement permits the inclusion of
lead, as no replacement has yet been developed.
Cadmium is present in rechargeable batteries and in the
color-generating layers of certain computer displays.
Cadmium damages the nervous system and is toxic in high
doses. The relevant bio-accumulative TCO’95 requirement
states that batteries may not contain more than 25 ppm
(parts per million) of cadmium. The color-generating layers
of display screens must not contain any cadmium.
Mercury is sometimes found in batteries, relays and
switches. Mercury damages the nervous system and is
toxic in high doses. The relevant bio-accumulative TCO’95
requirement states that batteries may not contain more than
25 ppm of mercury and that no mercury is present in any of
the electrical or electronic components concerned with the
display unit.
CFCs (freons) are sometimes used for washing printed
circuit boards and in the manufacture of expanded foam for
packaging. CFCs break down ozone and thereby damage
the ozone layer in the atmosphere, causing increased
reception on Earth of ultra-violet light with consequent
increased risks of skin cancer (malignant melanoma). The
relevant TCO’95 requirement: Neither CFCs nor HCFCs
may be used during the manufacture of the product or its
packaging.
1 Bio-accumulative means that the substance accumulates
within living organisms.
Shipping Package
The packaging material can be recycled, or you can save it
to return the monitor to a service center for repair or
disposal.
CFC Compounds in Distribution Packaging
Cushioning material used for shipping finished monitors are
not manufactured with nor do they contain any CFC
compounds.
Design for Disassembly/Recycling
These monitors have been designed for easy end-of-life
disassembly and recycling. Fasteners are generally of the
same type for efficient disassembly. Components made of
different materials can be easily separated and plastics
have been identified using intermational symbols to aid in
recycling.
Monitor Disposal
WARNING
If you need to dispose of a monitor, ask a qualified service
representative for the proper procedure. Improper disposal
could result in personal injury from implosion.
