Laser Copiers & Air Quality
A recent study at the Queensland University of Technology indicated that some printers emit indoor particulate pollution equivalent to allowing workers to smoke indoors. The Laboratory for Air Quality and Health concluded this can lead to heart and lung disease.
Other People Are Reading
-
Theories/Speculation
-
Styrene is a prominent ingredient in toner, the substance used to print words and images on paper. Further tests are necessary but, according to Scorecard, a pollutant ranking site, styrene is suspected of many health concerns including being a carcinogen and a toxicant of the kidneys, blood, skin reproductive, respiratory and immune systems and the liver.
Considerations
-
Many older printers use naphthalene, a substance the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has categorized as a persistent toxic chemical. Persistent means that the chemical does not break down and become passive for lengthy amounts of time.
-
Prevention/Solution
-
Modern technology has brought about laser copiers that emit very low levels of harmful particulate matter and printers that emit no particulates at all. Several of the major printer manufacturers offer model which emit low levels of these toxicants.
-
References
Resources
- Photo Credit business woman image by Mat Hayward from Fotolia.com
