NEC MultiSync LCD1700NX A Service Manual page 29

MultiSync LCD1700NX 3
TCO'95
MultiSync LCD1700NX (black model)
Congratulations! You have just purchased a TCO'95 approved and labeled 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. The main prob-
lem, as far as computers and other electronics equipment are concerned, is that
environmentally harmful substances are used both in the products and during the manufacturing. Since it has not
been possible for the majority of electronics equipment to be recycled in a satisfactory way, most of these
potentially damaging substances sooner or later enter Nature.
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. Since all methods of conventional
electricity generation have a negative effect on the environment (acidic and climate-influencing emissions, radioac-
tive waste, etc.), it is vital to conserve energy. Electronics equipment in offices consume an enormous amount of
energy since they are often left running continuously.
What does labelling involve?
This product meets the requirements for the TCO'95 scheme which provides for international and environmental
labelling of personal computers. The labelling scheme was developed as a joint effort by the TCO (The Swedish
Confederation of Professional Employees), Naturskyddsforeningen (The Swedish Society for Nature Conserva-
tion) and NUTEK (The National Board for Industrial and Technical Development in Sweden).
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 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 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, physical and visual ergonomics and good usability.
TCO'95 is a co-operative project between TCO (The Swedish Confederation of Professional Employees),
Naturskyddsforeningen (The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation) and NUTEK (The National Board for Indus-
trial and Technical Development in Sweden).
Environmental Requirements
Brominated flame retardants
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 fisheating 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.
TCO'95 demand requires that plastic components weighing more than 25 grams must not contain organically
bound chlorine and bromine.
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