TCO'95 is a co-operative project between TCO (The SwedishConfederation of Professional Employees), Naturskyddsforeningen(The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation) and NUTEK (TheNational Board for Industrial and Technical Development in Sweden).Environmental RequirementsBrominated flame retardantsBrominated flame retardants are present in printed circuit boards, cables,wires, casings and housings. In turn, they delay the spread of fire. Up tothirty percent of the plastic in a computer casing can consist of flameretardant substances. These are related to another group of environmentaltoxins, PCBs, which are suspected to give rise to similar harm, includingreproductive damage in fisheating birds and mammals, due to the bio-accumulative* processes. Flame retardants have been found in humanblood and researchers fear that disturbances in foetus development mayoccur.TCO'95 demand requires that plastic components weighing more than25 grams must not contain organically bound chlorine and bromine.Lead**Lead can be found in picture tubes, display screens, solders andcapacitors. Lead damages the nervous system and in higher doses, causeslead poisoning.TCO'95 requirement permits the inclusion of lead since no replacementhas yet been developed.Cadmium**Cadmium is present in rechargeable batteries and in the colourgeneratinglayers of certain computer displays. Cadmium damages the nervoussystem and is toxic in high doses.TCO'95 requirement states that batteries may not contain more than 25ppm (parts per million) of cadmium. The colour-generating layers ofdisplay screens must not contain any cadmium.