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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 climate-influencing emissions, radioactive waste), it is vital to save energy. Electronics equipment in offices is often left running
continuously and thereby consumes a lot of energy.
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
SE-114 94 Stockholm, Sweden
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 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.