FYI: Health Hazard from Toner

[ahhaa]

This's kinda surprising, and not good news for those whose printer runs right in their faces:

Office printers 'are health risk' By Nick Bryant BBC News, Sydney

Office printers emit tiny particles of toner, the scientists say
The humble office laser printer can damage lungs in much the same way as smoke particles from cigarettes, a team of Australian scientists has found. An investigation of a range of printer models showed that almost a third emit potentially dangerous levels of toner into the air.

The Queensland University of Technology scientists have called on ministers to regulate these kinds of emissions. They say some printers should come with a health warning. The researchers carried out tests on more than 60 machines.

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.

The problem was worse when new cartridges were used and when graphics and images required higher quantities of toner.

The researchers have called on governments to regulate air quality in offices. They also want companies to ensure that printers are based in well-ventilated areas so that particles disperse.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6923915.stm

[Bjs]

Ever heard of OHS ... Thats occupational , health and safety , here in au .

Groups involved :

Worksafe (standards development)
Workcover (non-government workers)(enforces standards)
Comcare (government workers)(enforces standards)

We covered this back in 1990

I'd fire those reseachers and scientists involved ... just for wasting time and money , when it was already a well known fact since the mid 80's ... ie ... this is not NEW news at all .

I'm covered by comcare ... government : Ex military service (photcopiers , laser printers)

----

As to the question of placing these things in a seperate room ... which was done in 1990 where I worked .

1: The ventilation system must be modified to prevent mixing air with nearby rooms .
2: Who ever enters this room , must wear ohs approved , gloves , googles , breathing mask , overalls .
3: The door must be closed at all times .

It's a pain if the room is part of a busy system which generates bulk prints which need clearing several times a day .

Just buy a crap load of bubble jet printers , fit them all with cis systems , and forget the issue exists .

[rallynavvie]

Yeah this is pretty well-known. Not so much an issue for consumer products like inkjets and dye-sub printers though.

We used to make toner bombs out of empty toner containers. The tiny particles burn rather well and suspend themselves in the containers easily. Leave a little extra in there for a longer burn. We just stuck a piece of fuse in one, shook it up a little to get a cloud of toner dust inside, light the fuse, and run. Of course it would send what toner was left unburned into the air so probably not the smartest thing I've ever done

[edDV]

This is just another campaign by tort lawyers to get another gravy train running. They must be running out of asbestos and tobacco income.

[thecoalman]

This is just another campaign by tort lawyers to get another gravy train running. They must be running out of asbestos and tobacco income.

Agreed, everthing is bad for your health to some degree. Doubtful it would stack up against jobs like welding or even many manufacturing jobs. I get very tired with the constant lawyer commercials on TV particualarly the truck accident ones. You don't see them offereing free legal help if you get hit by an uninsured motorist, the trucking company with a large policy of course they'll be more than happy to sue for you.