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Laser Printers Hazardous to Health, Study Finds

by Lee Bains on February 18, 2009 at 10:03 AM


According to a study recently conducted at the Queensland University of Technology, laser printers could stand alongside cigarettes and conventional automobiles as a producer of tiny, potentially harmful airborne particles, reports Australia's Courier-Mail. Lidia Morawska, who headed the study at the university's International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health, said yesterday that the bonding of toner to paper was found to produce tiny particles that could be dangerous to human health.

"These particles deposit very deeply in the human respiratory system and can cause irritation which could lead to [cardiovascular] problems," she explained.

While there is still much to be learned about the printers' potential dangers (Morawska admits that there is no way for office workers to identify the level of a machine's particle emissions), she does encourage people to place printers in well-ventilated areas and to sit as far away from them as possible. [From: News.com.au via FOXNews]

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Tags: emissions, health, health concerns, HealthConcerns, laser printer, LaserPrinter, printer, top

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