Office Printers May Pose Health Risks 227
drewmoney writes "The BBC reports on new findings which may have implications for the way offices are laid out. According to an Australian study, around a third of modern printer models release 'potentially dangerous levels of toner into the air' as they are completing a job. 'Almost one-third were found to emit ultra-tiny particles of toner-like material, so small that they can infiltrate the lungs and cause a range of health problems from respiratory irritation to more chronic illnesses. Conducted in an open-plan office, the test revealed that particle levels increased five-fold during working hours, a rise blamed on printer use. '"
Paper shredders do this too (Score:5, Interesting)
Get a portable HEPA filter and droop it in the vicinity of your printers and your problems (if you have any) will get measurably better.
Re:Ozone and Toner (Score:4, Interesting)
Probably says something about why we have an obesity epidemic to boot.
solution (Score:3, Interesting)
What about walking? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Paper shredders do this too (Score:5, Interesting)
That's one explanation. The BBC also says that "particle levels rise" during work hours... note that it doesn't specify the type of particles... well here are some other explanations:
1. Perfumes worn by employees
2. Dead skin (which is what 'dust' usually is)
3. Particulates stirred up by people walking around
4. Higher speed air due to cooling/heating systems which release and stir up dust
Does this remind anyone of "WiFi in schools causes cancer! Cell towers cause even more!" This was yet another BBC scare-story.
I can't believe anyone even reads the BBC's science and technology articles, especially after that.
Printer Emissions are Tested! (Score:5, Interesting)
toner _has_ to be electrostatic (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:Paper shredders do this too (Score:3, Interesting)
In 1986, between teletype courses, I learned to service the Savin 772S (or 722S?) liquid toner copier, the shipboard or marinized version of the famous copier. It had a deeper toner collection trough than shore-based units. Later that same year, I learned to service and repair the dry toner units, which had to have special seals to keep the magnetic toner from dispersing into the radio shack (comm center) equipment. (Can you imagine after a few months of exposure not to the lungs but to the URT-23's, WSC-3's, UYK-47, LTP-7', etc... what would happen? The equipment would fail or short out, despite their own filtration, in some cases.)
After discharging, I for one year used to service Savin liquid toner copiers back in 1988. (I'm not worried about lawsuits as they ARE on my resume, and I have no particular or personal problems with any PEOPLE I worked with there.) I had to dispose of the liquid toner AND the dispersant. Sometimes we "left" it in the customers' waste baskets if we were quick enough. Other times, savvy customers demanded WE dispose of it elsewhere.
(Oh, and I would log some 25 to 100 miles per day on my car, going as far as Soquel, Pescadero, San Franciso, sometimes but rarely the East Bay, but mostly Los Gatos, and the Peninsula and downtown SJ... so imagine the GASes my former 1988 2-door hatchback Honda Accord might have been putting out).
Now to put this in perspective, servicing TWO to 6 copiers a day, I'd have to change toner or add dispersant or drain off some to do one or both of those. Sometimes I dumped it in my dad's trash can or at the customers', or at their premises. I would be non-surprised if other companies' employees did the same and even dumped it down the drains.
Now, of course the company (or, should I say, our managers, supervisors, and experienced co-workers) told us to use Playtex rubber gloves, but after a while if the springs and tools didn't RIP or TEAR our gloves, the dispersant (alcohol, basically some and petroleum distillate) would dissolve or weaken the gloves, assuring quicker tearing by spring and tool.
I used to hang out at a couple of clubs into the we hours when smoking in bars/clubs/indoors in CA was still legal. Between the cigarette smoke and the toner and dispersant and after a year of this, my health and concentration were being affected, dinging my morale, leading to problems that eventually led to a mutual separation of me from the company. After a few weeks of separation, my health quality shot up markedly and I was my normal self again. How GREAT it felt to not have black toner circumscribing and getting under my nails M-F, clean by Sun AM and dirty again by Mon AM, and how good it felt not having liquid dispersant (petroleum distillate) drying my skin, penetrating my organs, and not having issues any more.
Later, as a contractor, an agency sent me to a BioPharm in Mountain View. They had a copy room maybe 10' x 15', noisy as hell and definitely containing more than nose-detectable amounts of toner and ionized air. I don't recall a partuclates filtration system, but there was a suction ventilation duct.
So, it is MORE than an office issue, it is also likely still a particulates issue for the outside, too, unless special vacuum units exist on-site.