Printing could be hazardous to your health

Worse than a cigarette and not nearly as tasty

That laser printer sitting on your desk could be emitting high levels of potentially hazardous particles, according to a study published today.

Some printers released almost as many ultra-fine particles as a smoldering cigarette, the study authors said.

There have been few studies on the health hazards of printing, and the current research, appearing in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, provides the most extensive look yet at particle emissions of office printers, including Canon, Hewlett-Packard, Ricoh and Toshiba models. The researchers did not analyze what the particles consisted of.

"Particles have been shown beyond any doubt to be a health hazard," said study author Lidia Morawska, a physicist at Queensland University of Technology in Australia.

Inhaling fine particles can cause health problems ranging from respiratory irritation to cardiovascular problems and cancer, depending on the particle composition, Morawska said.

The emissions varied widely among printers. Morawska and her colleagues classified 37 printers as non-emitters, eight as medium or low emitters, and 17 as high emitters.

Among the machines that had no emissions were eight HP LaserJet 4050 series printers and four Ricoh Aficio models.

High emitters included the HP LaserJet 1320 and 4250, which, when printing, increased the particle number in the air more than tenfold.

The study did not consider variables such as printer age or cartridge type, leading to variations even among printers of the same model. The scientists noted that they found one HP LaserJet 5 to be a high emitter, while another was a non-emitter.

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-sci-printers1aug01,1,5052452.story
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