United States
                     Environmental Protection
                     Agency
                         Pollution Prevention
                         and Toxics
                         (7406)
                                        EPA744-F-98-005
                                        June 1998
&EPA
Design  for the  Environment
Computer  Display  Project
         U.S.EPA
 What Is Design for the
 Environment?
 EPA's Design for the Environment
 (DfE) Program is a voluntary initia-
 tive that forms partnerships with
 a variety of stakeholder groups in
 an effort to:
 • Encourage businesses to incor-
  porate environmental concerns,
  in addition to the traditional cri-
  teria of cost and performance,
  into their decisions.
 • Effect behavior change to facili-
  tate continuous environmental
  improvement.
 To accomplish these goals, the
 program uses EPA's expertise and
 leadership to evaluate the human
 health and environmental risks,
 performance, and cost of tradi-
 tional and alternative
 technologies, materials, and
 processes. DfE disseminates infor-
 mation on its work to all
 interested parties and helps busi-
 nesses implement cleaner
 technologies identified through the
 program.
 The program has formed coopera-
 tive partnerships with the
 following industries:
 • Printed wiring board
 • Computer display
 • Printing
 • Garment and textile care
 • Auto refinishing
 • Industrial/institutional laundry
                               Assessing Life-Cycle
                               Impacts
          Why Is EPA Working
          With Ithe Electronics
          Industry?
                      Each year, millions of
                      desktop computer moni-
                      tors are manufactured and sold worldwide.
                      Monitors that use cathode ray tubes (CRTs)
                      currently dominate the global marketplace, as
CRTs provide rich, high-resolution displays well-suited to a range of
applications.

Flat panel displays (FPDs) have emerged on the electronics market as a
replacement for CRTs in certain applications, primarily because FPDs
are lighter, smaller, and more portable, and they consume less energy
during operation. One type of FPD, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), are
used primarily in notebook computers, but are beginning to move into
the desktop market. The potential life-cycle environmental impacts of
both CRTs and LCDs have not yet been adequately assessed.

EPA's Design for the Environment (DfE) Program has entered into a vol-
untary partnership with the electronics industry to evaluate the
life-cycle environmental impacts, performance, and cost of CRT and
FPD technologies used for desktop computers (LCDs). The project will
generate data to assist original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and
suppliers in the electronics field to incorporate environmental consider-
ations into their decision-making processes and identify areas for
improvement.
         What Are the
         Project's Goals?
                   The primary purpose of the DfE Computer
                   Display Project is to evaluate the life-cycle envi-
                   ronmental impacta of EPDs. and CRTs by
                   combining Cleaner Technologies Substitutes
Assessment (CTSA) and life-cycle assessment (LCA) approaches.
Developed under the DfE program, CTSAs evaluate and compare substi-
tute processes, products, or technologies, and generate data that allow
businesses to make environmentally informed choices. Human and eco-
logical risk, energy and resource use, performance, and costs are
evaluated in a CTSA.

LCAs examine the full life cycle of a product, from materials acquisi-
tion to manufacturing, use, and disposition. LCAs are comprehensive
methods for evaluating the full environmental impacts of a product
system.

In this project, these two methodologies will be used to study display
technologies that perform standard applications on 15- to 17-inch


          T:§\Printed on paper that contains at least 20 percent postconsumer fiber.

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                                       ^________________________^_______________________________l____________________________!
                                       th§t====JJIh£ project team^wiU summarize performance and
                                       J ~~~     .CQStjiifQrmatiQnJrQm existing industry data. In
              nd
                    ustry and summarized.
 technical data as possible from existing research.
 JJhe__fQlk)wing studies are possible sources for project
	team	consideration:	
                            .esf materials, and
   tt&nd the envixdnment
                      tassessmentoispy
                 eir components.
                  obal demands for "extended
  guct_resppnsiDiJLity.
                                                 MCC's 1994 Electronics Industry Environmental
                                                          wHch_gualitative]y identified general
                                                          ^SIssues and priority needs for reducing
                                                 impacts from display screens, but was not quantita-
                                                 tive and did not address, all dispky life-cycle issues.

                                                                       casestud  of the enron-
                                                       performance of an active matrix LCD,
                                                includes some preliminary life-cycle inventory data.

                                                        JeraeyJbistitute of Technology life-cycle
                                                                               pit on the Visions of_
                                                                                '          '
                   'reject participants
                   "elude"display manu-
       - - -   -	facturers, OEMs, trade
                         such as the U.S.
          tnnessee jyTJand the
                                 	
                  and with te assistance of
Center for Clean Products and Clea
                                                               ^
                                                         ectronic DisT^ay~SadJastty'to the Year '2000,
                                                  --- EIAJ (Electronic Industries Association of Japan).

                                                    Research on personal computers (including dis-
                                                    plays) conducted at the NEC Resources and
                                                  =. Environment Protection Labs and National
                                                  _Jns£il3J£ejQr_BfiSfBjrces.and Environment.
                                             The results from new studies as well as any analysis
                                               ___,__..    existing data wm"ge disseminated to
                                             industry OEMs, display manufacturers, and other
                                             interested parties.
                      |gjf£t participants are
     'jn^gmngntgl	impacts of .display tech-_
      "             IriiJI^gycle^^

Ipp estimates of enyironmental impacts from
     EQSeSiSSL
               i	|ife-gyclg stageg p£ thg dis-
           ganisms in the environment.
                                                                  How Can I

                                                                  Get More

                                                                  Information?
                                                  To learn more about EPA's DfE Program or DfE
                                                  Computer Display Project, contact:
                                                  Pollution Prevention Information Clearinghouse
                                                  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
                                                  401 M Street, SW. (7409)
                                                  Washington, DC 20460
                                                  Telephone: 202 260-1023
                                                  Fax: 202 260-4659
                                                  E-mail: ppic@epa.gov
                                                  You may also visit the DfE web site at
                                                  .

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