Laser printers might be deadly

CBCB Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄ƷDer Millionendorf- Icrontian
edited August 2007 in Science & Tech
A team at the Queensland University of Technology has found that some laser printers spend their days emitting lung-clogging, potentially carcinogenic, toner particles. People who work around laser printers everyday might be at risk.

The team discovered the danger by accident. Since then, they've stopped working next to their own printers, and have developed plans to push legislation through to encourage printer manufacturers to regulate these emissions.

c|net

Comments

  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited August 2007
    Oh I'm so screwed. We laser print for a living. We have a ~400 cubic foot Xeikon, which is a giant laser printer, in the next room spewing out cancer all day, and I sit three feet away from two gigantic, high speed, print production laser printers all day every day.

    Yay!
  • CBCB Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Der Millionendorf- Icrontian
    edited August 2007
    I knew you'd like this one...
  • QCHQCH Ancient Guru Chicago Area - USA Icrontian
    edited August 2007
    primesuspect wrote:
    Oh I'm so screwed. We laser print for a living. We have a ~400 cubic foot Xeikon, which is a giant laser printer, in the next room spewing out cancer all day, and I sit three feet away from two gigantic, high speed, print production laser printers all day every day.

    Yay!
    Hey Prime, can I have your camera if you kick the bucket (not this bucket :bucket:)? ;D

    I'm sure there are some adverse effects to breathing in toner... the question is how much does it take to really raise your chances of getting sick... :scratch:
  • BuddyJBuddyJ Dept. of Propaganda OKC Icrontian
    edited August 2007
    HP has raised the BS flag saying that their products (all but one of the group tested in the study) are safe.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited August 2007
    I would be skeptical of any study like this one until there are several others corroborating the findings. All these horrible, horrible, nasty, terrible things...and average life spans keep going up and up and up. I know, that sounds like a simpleton's rant, but there's truth to it.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited August 2007
    The particles have not had a full chemical analysis, but some are potential carcinogens
    Not exactly definitive, reproducible science. Maybe they are on to something, maybe not. Sometimes the alarm bells are valid - cigarettes, for example. Sometimes the dire warnings turn out to be so much tempest in a teapot - power line radiation and "cancer causing" saccharin sweetener.
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