is using laser printer safe?

Australian researchers, investigating ventilation systems in offices, were surprised when they made the stunning discovery that the air outside near a freeway was five times less polluted than the air inside non-smoking offices. The culprit: laser printers.

The laser printers emitted ultrafine particles, especially when new toner cartridges were used or when computer graphics and images were printed. The American Chemical Society said that ultrafine means the particles can penetrate without difficulty into the lungs and its smallest passageways, which might result in serious illnesses over time. The researchers suspected the particles originated from the laser printer toner which uses a very fine powder.

The team reported that out of 62 laser printers investigated, 17 units emitted high levels of particles, while 37 other printers did not emit any particles. Eight others had lower emissions.

There could be health effects. The nature of the particles would determine the impact on health, but the effects could be as minor as respiratory irritation to more serious diseases.

These results could spawn a demand for government regulations and occupational safety guidelines. But while these are still forthcoming, office workers would be well advised to stay away from laser printers. In one case, as reported in the study, being close to a working printer was equivalent to sitting beside a cigarette smoker.

Remember that you spend more hours indoors, at the office or at home. You are exposed to chemicals originating indoors or those introduced indoors by ventilation.

The findings could be dangerous to laser printer manufacturers, too. Lasers have declined in most small-volume markets but remain largely used in high-volume printing markets. If the results of the study are validated in other research, and if illnesses are found to have been caused by printer particles, this could spell the end of laser printer.