Posted By Ian Mycroft In one department of our organisation there is no room to put a copier anywhere but in one of the offices, one employee has said that he considers it to be unsafe due to harmful fume emissions. Can anyone advise on what precautions would be reasonable in this situation.

Posted By Bryn Maidment Ian Do a search in the archive, there was a thread on this a few months ago that may be useful.

Posted By Ken Taylor Could be Ozone, heat, light, fumes, dust, toner powder, etc. Good ventilation (eg air extractor) is needed, don't site the machine where the flashing light is in someone's vision or where exhaust emissions and heat will be in close proximity to someone's workstation.

Posted By Graham Bullough From occasional conversations with the engineers who service my employer's photocopiers I gather that photocopy technology has changed and improved within the past few years so that less ozone is generated (something to do with "corona wires" if my memory serves me correctly). As well as having filters to deal with the residual levels of ozone which are produced, modern copiers apparently have efficient renewable filters to capture the very fine toner dust particles, and this appears to be borne out by experience - try running a finger over flat surfaces near the copier and it doesn't get as black as it does with older copiers. As with most machines regular servicing and changing of filters is important. Modern copiers also tend to be quieter than older ones. Thus for various reasons, it's worthwhile checking the age of your copiers and trying to get older ones which tend to be dirtier and noisier, etc. replaced by newer ones. (I've no connection with the photocopier trade and hence no financial interest in plugging the sale or hire of newer machines.) Where feasible, copiers of any age should be located away from people's desks because they still emit some noise and heat, and in some cases, flashes of light from under the lid. The frequency and duration of use is also a significant factor. Lots of users can cause noise and visual distraction for other people working nearby compared with occasional short duration use by a few people. p.s. Photocopiers are rather like cars - we can't really manage without them. Also considering the numbers of moving parts and processes which both photocopiers and car engines have, it's amazing that they don't break down more often!