Appendix
TCO’95 Environmental
Requirements
Regulatory Information
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-accumulative 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.
