Toasters create health hazard! December 04, 2008 10:35 by John Sollars

Following the widely reported research from the University of Queensland reporting that laser printers create potentially hazardous particles in the atmosphere, new research from the internationally renowned Fraunhofer institutes have concluded that electric Toasters create the same sort of particles and that there is no danger to them.

Technical and financial support was provided by the printer and copier manufacturers in the German Association for Information technology, Telecom's and new media (BITKOM) - no potential conflict of interest there then - and concluded that laser printers do create ultra-fine particles and the cause is the 'fixing unit which heats up to 220deg C during the printing process in order to fix the toner particles to the paper.  These high temperatures cause volatile substances such as paraffin's and silicon oils to evaporate, and these accumulate as ultra-fine particles.   The same particles have been observed during typical  household activities such as cooking, baking or making toast!.

Does this mean we can dispose of those breathing masks we all wear every time we go anywhere near a printer?