another reason to avoid cubicles (if you can)

Yesterday, I noticed that the pounding headache I attempted to ignore much of the day, almost completely vanished within half-hour of leaving the office. But this was only a small piece of evidence from the growing number of personal experiences I was passively accumulating to support my long standing hypothesis that physical ailments are magnified in and sometimes even develop from the office environment. However, until now my hypothesis was rather weak, since I had gathered very little hard scientific data to support it (I’m sure data exists, but I’ve been wasting my free time at work researching other nonsense). Until now.

The NYtimes reports Study: Laser printers may pose health risks

Emissions from office laser printers can be as unhealthy as cigarette smoke, according to an Australian professor who is now calling for regulations to limit printer emissions.

The average printer releases toner particles that can get deep into the lungs and cause respiratory problems and cardiovascular trouble, according to Morawska's team, part of the International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health, and specialists in atmospheric particles.

And yes, I sit less than 10 feet away from a laser printer that is almost constantly in operation. Never mind the radiation emitted from the half a dozen or so radars rotating above my building...