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Regulatory Notices
TCO99
Congratulations!
You have just purchased a TCO'99 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 labeled computers?
In many countries, environmental labeling has become an established method for encouraging the adaptation of goods and services to the environment. The main problem, as far as computers and other electronics equipment are concerned, is that environmentally harmful substances are used both in the products and during their manufacture. Since it is not so far possible to satisfactorily recycle the majority of electronics equipment, 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 electricity generation have a negative effect on the environment (e.g. acidic and
What does labeling involve?
The product meets the requirements for the TCO'99 scheme which provides for international and environmental labelling of personal computers and/or displays. The labelling scheme was developed as a joint effort by the TCO (The Swedish Confederation of Professional Employees), Svenska Naturskyddsforeningen (The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation) and Statens Energimyndighet (The Swedish National Energy Administration).
Approval requirements cover a wide range of issues: ecology, ergonomics, emission of electrical and magnetical fields, energy consumption and electrical safety.
Ecological criteria impose restrictions on the presence and use of heavy metals, brominated and chlorinated flame retardants, and other substances. The product must be prepared for recycling and the manufacturing site(s) shall be certified according to ISO14001 or EMAS registered.
Energy requirements include a demand that the system unit 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 system unit shall be reasonable for the user.
Labelled products must meet strict environmental demands, for example, in respect of the reduction of electrical and magnetical fields as well as work load and visual ergonomics.
Below you will find a brief summary of the ecological requirements met by this product. The complete ecological criteria document can be found at TCO Development's website http://www.tcodevelopment.com or may be ordered from:
TCO Development
Fax: +46 8 782 92 07
Email (Internet): development@tco.se
Current information regarding TCO'99 approved and labeled products may also be obtained via the Internet, using the address: http://www.tco- info.com/
Environmental requirements
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
birds and mammals, due to the
