Scientists have said that some printers used in offices every day could be harmful to health as they emit pollutants.
The researchers tested the air quality near different printers in an office setting and also in an isolation chamber, and found it got as much as three times worse than outdoors.
They tested the emissions from 62 laser printers and found that 27 per cent of them emitted high levels of particulate pollution – pollution made up of small liquid or solid particles when in use, reported the online edition of New Scientist.
They said the worst printer-created particulate pollution was roughly equivalent to that produced by an average cigarette smoker.
Scientists at the International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health in Australia focused on particles less than a micrometre in diameter. These are not easily filtered out by the lungs and are suspected of causing long-term health problems.
The scientists think it is likely that the particles come from the toner.
However, not all printers were equally bad. In fact, 60 per cent of them emitted no particles at all.
There was also no clear indication that any specific brand was worse than another.
The researchers tested the air quality near different printers in an office setting and also in an isolation chamber, and found it got as much as three times worse than outdoors.
They tested the emissions from 62 laser printers and found that 27 per cent of them emitted high levels of particulate pollution – pollution made up of small liquid or solid particles when in use, reported the online edition of New Scientist.
They said the worst printer-created particulate pollution was roughly equivalent to that produced by an average cigarette smoker.
Scientists at the International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health in Australia focused on particles less than a micrometre in diameter. These are not easily filtered out by the lungs and are suspected of causing long-term health problems.
The scientists think it is likely that the particles come from the toner.
However, not all printers were equally bad. In fact, 60 per cent of them emitted no particles at all.
There was also no clear indication that any specific brand was worse than another.