User’s Manual - 30
Copyright(c) 2004, Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Information
Regulatory
What does labelling involve?
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/
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.
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.