RISO Education Solutions

Helena Romanes School

A member of staff at Helena Romanes School has recovered from illness caused by emissions from a toner based photocopier. Carol Cross, the school’s reprographics technician suffered debilitating symptoms which included shortness of breath, an inflamed throat, congested nasal passages and tiredness.

Toner based photocopiers and printers pose a risk to health, particularly when used in a confined space. The electrostatic process generates heat and emits chemicals linked to respiratory illness. In producing everyday copies and prints, these machines threaten the health of those exposed to them.

Ozone, a by-product of the high voltage electrical discharge in photocopiers is highly toxic. It can cause eye, nose, throat and lung irritation, dermatitis, headaches and nausea. Carbon monoxide which is produced when toner is heated can cause headaches, drowsiness and increased pulse rate.

Conventional toner based devices also release particles of toner into the atmosphere. Toner is a mixture of plastic resin, iron powder and carbon black; a group 2B carcinogen described by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as “possibly carcinogenic to humans''.

The school has a dedicated print room where a high speed photocopier was employed to meet the school’s print and copy needs. Print and copy volumes often exceed 50,000 pages a week. With the photocopier running virtually non-stop to meet demand, temperature and fumes in the print room would quickly build up.

The air quality in the print room was noticeably worse than in other parts of the school. According to Carol, visitors to the print room would comment on the temperature and complain about the smell. It was a dry and dusty environment which left a metallic taste in the mouth. Carol needed to drink large volumes of water to keep her throat lubricated.

The school was supportive and took steps to improve ventilation. The photocopier supplier was also approached to see if emissions could be reduced but simply advised that the machine was operating within limits, adding “that’s what you get when toner fuses to paper.”

The school turned to RISO, replacing the photocopier with a RISO digital printer. The RISO device uses a clean process to produce print and copy output. Piezo technology lays pigment ink directly onto the paper to produce vibrant colour images at high speed. There is no heat generated and no fumes or particles emitted.

Carol’s health problems disappeared with the photocopier. Carol explained “The print room is cooler, the air less acrid and there is no longer a smell of ozone. It is wonderful to be able to breathe again.” Not only has the RISO proved ‘a breath of fresh air’, it hasn’t disappointed as a production device, effortlessly keeping pace with school’s print and copy demand.
 

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