Xref: utzoo unix-pc.general:3208 sci.med:10950 sci.environment:1650
Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!ukma!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!husc6!spdcc!gnosys!gst
From: gst@gnosys.UUCP (Gary S. Trujillo)
Newsgroups: unix-pc.general,sci.med,sci.environment
Subject: photocopier risks [was Re: Conductive Dust Bunnies]
Summary: photocopiers *may* be hazardous to your health. (??)
Keywords: toner developer copiers
Message-ID: <239@gnosys.UUCP>
Date: 2 Jul 89 17:23:45 GMT
References: <1989Jun14.042949.597@ivucsb.sba.ca.us> <19512@cup.portal.com> <321@cbnewsi.ATT.COM> <1137@vsi.COM> <600@aablue.UUCP>
Reply-To: gst@gnosys.UUCP (Gary S. Trujillo)
Followup-To: sci.med
Organization: gst's 3B1 - Somerville, Massachusetts
Lines: 34

In article <600@aablue.UUCP> jb@aablue.UUCP (John B Scalia) writes:
> ...
> None of this stuff is really toxic or dangerous. All of it is rather
> stable. If you're really concerned about how healthy it is to be around
> it, ask about getting a copy of any relevant Material Safety Data Sheets,
> MSDS for short, on every applicable component in your copier...

Well, I recall a news story on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered"
program a number of years back (it might have been as long ago as 8-9) wherein
their environmental reporter Daniel Zwerdling looked at possible health hazards
of prolonged exposure to the environment immediately around conventional copying
machines.  I've forgotten the details, but I believe the upshot of the story was
that there were various kinds of dangers, and many people who spend a lot of
time copying have unusually high rates of various kinds of health problems.

> The manufacturer/distributor is required by law to make these available to
> you, and your employer must allow you access to these forms, again by law.

Personally, looking at the record, I tend not to be especially confident of
the kinds of minimal standards devised by federal regulatory agencies.

> ... reading these things [MSDS forms] and making some sense out of them
> is another matter.

Amen.

[N.B.: I am cross-posting this article to sci.med and sci.environment,
in hopes that someone in one of those newsgroups might have more accurate
information.  Also, I have vectored the followup off to sci.med, thinking
that to be a more appropriate place for followup discussion (in the absence
of a newsgroup specifically relating to health risks and issues).]
-- 
Gary S. Trujillo			      {linus,bbn,m2c}!spdcc!gnosys!gst
Somerville, Massachusetts		     {icus,ima,stech,wjh12}!gnosys!gst