Laser Printers may not be Harmful
Internet is literally flooded with articles and blog posts based on the research conducted by researchers at Queensland University. It was concluded that laser printers emit tiny toxic particles that may be as dangerous as passive smoking. There are suggestions that they might have jumped the gun with a tiny sample of data. I had written on the statutory warning to be printed on laser printers before sale.
Independent experts have suggested that the Australian researchers might have jumped the gun with a tiny subset of data. It was opined that ultra-fine emissions may not be harmful. The argument says that laser printers generate tiny particles and the exact composition is yet to be ascertained.
Each particle, up to 1,000 times smaller than a dust particle, is small enough that it can get drawn deeply into the lung’s tiny sacs, Hamers said, but what it does once it gets there depends on its chemical composition.
For example, cigarette smoke is dangerous not because it contains tiny particles but because those particles include cyanide and carbon monoxide.
It was stated in the Queensland report that a specific HP printer emitted tiny toxic particles in plenty. HP has reacted to this accusation by stating that all HP printers undergo rigorous emission testing and is trying to get in touch with the researchers to get more information on the process of testing.
Experts noted that the types of particles identified by the researchers can also be generated from simple activities such as burning a candle or making toast.
Charles J. Weschler, a chemistry professor at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, said if people are going to take precautions, they should worry about secondhand smoke or vehicle emissions, not printers.
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