gst@gnosys.UUCP (Gary S. Trujillo) (07/03/89)
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