Use an inkjet printer or die
By Davey Winder in Editorial
Posted in Printers on
That is the rather surprising apparent conclusion of research carried out by the Queensland University of Technology, which suggests that laser printing is just as bad for your health as smoking. The tests on more than sixty different laser printers revealed that a third were emitting potentially dangerous levels of toner micro-particles. Particles small enough to penetrate the lungs just by being alive in the same room, in the same way as standing in a room with a tobacco smoker leads to passive inhalation.
The story does sound a little far fetched, and the Australian researchers calling for governments to place health warnings on printers does little to add to the credibility. What next, having to go outside to do your printing?
Still, the fact remains that micro-particles of toner-like material emitted by these devices could lead to respiratory irritation or perhaps even more chronic illnesses such as have been associated with the use of Asbestos for example.
The testing apparently took place in an open plan office space, with air-bound particle levels being measured throughout the day and night. Office hours proved the most dangerous, with levels unsurprisingly increasing the most when new toner cartridges were used but also when graphics intensive printing was done which demands a greater quantity of toner.
There is, however, no research material available to link levels of laser toner micro-particles in the air with illness, let alone death. Who do you think would die first, a non-smoker with a laser printer or someone on twenty a day using an inkjet?
My guess is that a new round of research funding is coming up at the Uni
Not yet rated
Loading ...Make a comment
Tag cloud
Archives
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
Most commented posts
- 80 percent of viruses love Windows 7
165 comments
- Has Microsoft gone mental?
- Has the US Army declared war on Windows 7?
- Cuil frozen out: market share drops to next to nothing
- Xbox 360 FAIL
- The 24GB RAM Desktop is born
- Use old version of Windows instead of Linux, says teacher
- Microsoft reveals time-based licensing model
- How Marblecake Hacked Time
- Nexus Two - The Next Generation
Highest Rated Blog Posts
- Why ecommerce fails (100%)
- Google Chrome stands alone at PWN2OWN (100%)
- Betting on Hubdub technology (100%)
- Has Google gone insane as GMail goes back to beta? (100%)
- Chinese whispers as government implicated in UK hack attacks (100%)
- Crimeware toolkit targets 10,000 trusted sites (100%)
- Black Hat risk to migrating VMs (100%)
- Tough on cyber crime, tough on the causes of cyber crime (100%)
- Firefox 3, Beta 4, Enhancements 900, Tested 5 (100%)
- Has the US Army declared war on Windows 7? (100%)
