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What does the
environmenal labelling
involve?
Environmental
requirements
Environmental Labelling of Personal Computers
The environmental demands has been developed by Svenska
Naturskyddsforeningen (The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation).
These demands impose restrictions on the presence and use of heavy
metals, brominated and chlorinated flame retardants, CFCs (freons) and
chlorinated solvents, among other things. The product must be prepared
for recycling and the manufacturer is obliged to have an environmental
policy 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.
Below you will find a brief summary of the environmental requirements
met by this product. The complete environmental criteria document may
be ordered from:
TCO Development
SE-114 94 Stockholm, Sweden
Fax: +46 8 782 92 07
Email (Internet): development@tco.se
Current information regarding TCO'99 approved and labelled
products may also be obtained via the Internet, using the
address: http://www.tco-info.com/
Flame retardants
Flame retardants are present in printed circuit boards, cables, wires,
casings and housings. Their purpose is to prevent, or at least to delay
the spread of fire. Up to 30% of the plastic in a computer casing can
consist of flame retardant substances. Most flame retardants contain
bromine or chloride, and those flame retardants are chemically related to
another group of environmental toxins, PCBs. Both the flame retardants
containing bromine or chloride and the PCBs are suspected of giving rise
to severe health effects, including reproductive damage in fish-eating
birds and mammals, due to the bio-accumulative* processes. Flame
retardants have been found in human blood and researchers fear that
disturbances in foetus development may occur.
The relevant TCO'99 demand requires that plastic components weighing
more than 25 grams must not contain flame retardants with organically
bound bromine or chlorine. Flame retardants are allowed in the printed
circuit boards since no substitutes are available.
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