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TCO Development
SE-114 94 Stockholm
, Sweden
Fax: +46 8 782 92 07
Em
ail (Internet): development@tco.se
Current inform
ation regarding TCO'99 approved and labeled
products m
ay 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. Thei
r 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 fla
me retardant substances. Most flame retardants contain
brom
ine or chloride, and those flame retardants are chemically related
to another g
roup of environmental toxins, PCBs. Both the flame
retardants containing bromine or ch
loride and the PCBs are suspected
of givi
ng rise to severe health effects, including reproductive damage
in fish-eating birds and ma
mmals, due to the bio-accumulative
*
processes. Fl
ame 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 m
ore 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.
Cadmium
Cadmium is present in rechargeable batteries and in the
color-generating la
yers of certain computer displays. Cadmium
dam
ages the nervous system and is toxic in high doses. The relevant
*
Bio-accumulative is defined as substances which accumulate within living
organisms
User’s Manual
5