Earlier this year, there was an uproar followed by hue and cry across borders regarding a study conducted by Queensland University that showed laser printers emitted clouds of toner particles which was assumed to be potentially dangerous to humans; especially the ones seated close by. A team of German scientists have squashed the theory altogether stating that the emitted particles weren’t from the toner itself but is generated from the heated elements inside the printer. In fact, they go on to state that any other home appliance that involves heat and motor would emit the same particles as well.

The scientists from Fraunhofer Wilhelm Klauditz Institute in Braunschweig got down to business by running a laser printer without a toner or paper – and yet, they observed ultra-fine particles. It was concluded that the particles were generated from the printers’ fixing unit, which heats up as high as 220°C during the printing process to place the toner particles on paper.

The head researcher, Fraunhofer Boffins states – “Our investigations show that as the ultra-fine particles are not emitted from a specific part of the printer, but also from the paper output, filters can only have a limited effect.”

It is now time for the Australian University to delve into this subject yet again and confirm the German findings.

If the stated findings are true, all household appliances will definitely come under the scanner and we predict that a bigger problem will eventually unfold in days to come