Samsung SyncMaster 797MB Owner's Manual page 75

TCO'95 -Ecological requirements for personal com puters (TCO'95 applied model only)
AB general r equirem ents
AB2 Written Eco -docum ent acom panying the pr oducts
Congratulations! You have jus t purchased a TCO'95 approv ed and labelled product! Your choice has
prov ided y ou with a product developed for professional use. Your purchase has also contributed to
reducing the burden on the environment and to the further dev elopment of environmentally -adapted
electronic products.
Why do we have envir onmentally-labelled monitors?
In many countries , environmental labelling has become an establis hed method for enc ouraging the
adaptation of goods and services to the environment.T he main problem as far as monitors and other
electronic equipment are conc erned is that env ironmentally harmful subs tances are used both in the
products and during their manufacture. Sinc e it has not been possible s o far for the majority of electronic
equipment to be recy cled in a satis fac tory way, most of these potentially damaging substanc es sooner or
later enter Nature.
There are also other characteristics of a monitor, such as energy c onsumption levels, that are important
from both the working and natural environment viewpoints. Sinc e all types of conv entional electricity
generation have a negative effect on the environment (acidic and climate -influencing emissions,
radioac tive waste, etc.) it is vital to conserve energy. Elec tronic equipment in offices consumes an
enormous amount of energy, since it is often routinely left running continuous ly .
What does labelling involve?
This produc t meets the requirements for the TCO'95 sc heme, which provides for international
environmental labelling of monitors. The labelling scheme was developed as a joint effort by the TCO (The
Swedish Confederation of Professional Employees), Natursk yddsforeningen (The Swedish Society for
Nature Conservation) and NUTEK (The National Board for Industrial and Technical Development in
Sweden).
The requirements c over a wide range of is sues: environment, ergonomics, usability , emis sion of electrical
and magnetic fields , energy consumption and electrical and fire s afety.
The environmental demands concern among other things restrictions on the presence and use of heavy
metals, brominated and chlorinated flame retardants, CFCs (freons), and chlorinated solv ents. The product
must be prepared for recycling and the manufacturer is obliged to hav e an environmental plan, which must
be adhered to in each country where the c ompany conducts its operations policy. The energy requirements
include a demand that the monitor after a certain period of inactivity shall reduce its power consumption to
a lower level, in one or more s tages. The length of time to reactivate the monitor s hall be reasonable for
the user.
Labelled products mus t meet strict environmental demands, for example in res pect of the reduction of
electric and magnetic fields, along with physical and visual ergonomics and good usability.
TCO Development Unit 1996-11-29
On the page this folder you will find a brief s ummary of the environmental requirements met by this
product.
The complere env ironmental criteria document may be ordered from:
TCO Development Unit
S-11494 Stockholm
Sweden
Fax: +46 8 782 92 07
development@tco.se
E-mail (Internet):
Current information regarding TCO'95 -approved and labelled products may also
be obtained via the Internet, using the address:
http://www.tco -info.com/
TCO'95 is a co -operative project between(3 logos)
Environm ental Requirements
Brominated flame retardants are present in printed circuit boards, cables , wires, casings and housings. In
turn, they delay the spread of fire. Up to thirty percent of the plastic in a computer casing can consist of
flame retardant substances. These are related to another group of environmental toxins, PCBs, which are
suspected to give rise to similar harm, including reproductive damage in fish eating birds and mammals,
due to the bioaccumulative processes . Flame retardants have been found in human blood and researchers
fear that dis turbances in foetus development may occur.
TCO'95 demand requires that plastic components weighing more than 25 grams must not contain
organic ally bound c hlorine and bromine.
Lead
Lead can be found in picture tubes, display screens , solders and capacitors. Lead damages the nervous
system and in higher doses, causes lead poisoning.