Your Printer May Be Hazardous To Your Health

Published: August 3, 2007, 11:44 am

I’ve long heard rumors that the fine particulate dust used in laser printer toner cartridges may be a health risk. It certainly makes sense: Not all of that stuff can stick to the paper, and if you’ve ever spilled toner you know there’s no way it can be good for your lungs. Now a controlled study is confirming the information, saying that 30 percent of all laser printers tested emit dangerous particles described as “causing lasting damage on the scale of inhaled cigarette smoke.” These tiny particles lodge deep in the lungs and can lead to anything from lung irritation to full-on cancer. The tests come from an Australian technology university and were conducted in a “large open-plan space,” and found that printers could increase particulate matter in the air by up to 500 percent. While I’m still trying to obtain the list of high vs. low particle emitters from the university, there appears to be a lot of variability among machines and

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