re toner hazards (was Re: Conductive Dust Bunnies)

[Jonathan A. Chandross]

jep at oink.UUCP (James E. Prior)
> Some folks have mentioned that the toner stuff is probably pretty
> inert, and that makes sense to me.  Something that baffles me is
> why coal dust causes black lung.  It seems that coal dust is also
> pretty inert.  

> Is black lung caused by the impurities of coal dust (like sulfur),
> or some chemical property of the almost completely, but not 
> entirely inert carbon, or just the mechanical presence of the
> stuff regardless of how chemically inert.  

Any fine particulate, such as coal dust, photocopier toner, cigarette 
smoke, or carbon from a diesel engine, will cause lung damage.

The problem is not a chemical reaction per se.  Rather, it is a physical
one.  The fine particles, usually ten micron or less, clog up all the 
nooks and crannies in the lungs, and are too small to be removed by the
usual mechanisms.  The net effect is to decrease the surface area available 
to exchange C02 for 02.  Bad news.


Jonathan A. Chandross
Internet: jac at paul.rutgers.edu
UUCP: rutgers!paul.rutgers.edu!jac