Office ‘smog’ risk to health

From The Sunday Times
July 15, 2007

Office ‘smog’ risk to health

Jonathan Leake, Science Editor

THE electronic “smog” generated by computers, printers and other office equipment may be exposing workers to raised levels of pollutants and bacteria, a study has found.

The research, by Imperial College London, examined whether there was any substance to complaints by office workers who report headaches and other health problems after spending long periods working with electronic equipment.

Such claims are often dismissed by employers but the research suggests these electric fields can cause harm.

There has long been concern over the possible impact of electric fields. Last year the Oxford Childhood Cancer Research Group reported that children living within 200 metres of high-voltage power lines had a 69% higher risk of leukaemia than those living 600 metres or more away The possibility that similar effects might occur with the far lower voltages of domestic and office appliances has also been winning acceptance.

In the Imperial College study Keith Jamieson, who led the research, mapped the fields in a typical office.

“Electric fields have a powerful effect on the air. That is why the backs of computers get covered in dust,” he said. “The same thing happens to people’s skin and lungs. It increases the toxic load that the body has to deal with and raises the risk of contamination and infection.”