Slashdot Mirror
Is Your Computer Leaking Toxic Dust?
n0alpha writes "A recent study by scientists at the University of Washington suggests that computers emit dangerous chemicals. Specifically, chemicals called PBDEs (poly-brominated-diphyenyl ethers) found in the household dust that collects on your monitor and keyboard could pose a health threat. Scientists say the chemicals have caused developmental and learning defects in laboratory animals and may pose a threat to people and animals. 'It's critical we phase these materials out,' said Suellen Mele, Citizens for Resource Conservation. And some companies are doing just that."
I don't know about you, but the on;y
new computer smell' I get is from NewEgg's packing materials. If you're referring to something like what a new Dell smells like, I have no idea. If it's anything like a car's new smell it's probably some volatile compounds left over from the plastic manufacturing.
Evil will always win, because Good is DUMB
Reading this post is bad for my eyes. Going to the toilet to often can give me RSI and serious backproblems. Eating wears out my jawbones. Everything is bad for you if you sart thinking about it. Everything dangerous is called life.
they also mentioned that these compounds are found on many electronic devices. Let's just suppose, for the sake of argument, that this dust shortens your life span by 10-15 years. Are we willing to change our lives radically (go back to 19th century living) in order to live longer? Or will we just deal with it as a cost of progress? Like an earlier poster said, everything kills you.
Don't be a looter...and yes, I know that it's spelled with an "A" instead of an "E".
Unfortunately for us, in the US at least, we have become overly obsessed with germs and germ fighting. Everything you see kills 99.9% of bacteria!
Soon we will be bathing in extra strength bleach, drinking pool water (we basically do), and using disposable/burnable everything.
The more that we try to "fight" bacteria the more our civilization becomes prone to simple infection.
"According to other scientists, such as Dr. Gina Solomon, senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council, there is no need to panic. They say that although the levels of PBDEs are high enough to be worth talking about, they are unlikely to pose a serious threat to human health."
'Nuff said.
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored. - Aldous Huxley
Think of life an a game of russian roulette with over 1000 chambers and one bullet. I will freely admit that chemicals from electronics is a minor issue. But enough minor issues added together amount to a major issue. Life is not safe, and there are many things that I cannot control. But if there is something that I CAN control, then I would be a fool for not doing it. I am not saying that I am going to throw out my computer. I am just saying that if I can swab my mobo and processor with alcohol wipes first and help protect the health of my family, then it may be worth the effort.
;)
Secondly the "chemicals may be emitted" phrase IS valid. Have you ever heard of a moth ball? There is not chemical reaction there, but vapors are present? It is a physical process called "sublimation." Sublimation is NOT a chemical process, but it does happen. Look it up.
Whenever you smell ANYTHING, it is because either particles or chemicals are in the air. So your theory of chemical reactions is false. Anything which can vaporize will emit chemicals. Plus, the problem is worse if there are porous materials saturated with a volatile chemical (volatile meaning that it can emite a vapor).
As far as cleaning everything first (if that would work), I am not worried about myself, but my children. I feel free to gamble a little with my life, but not those of my kids.
Also, using an air filter on the air intakes of my computer is a step to keep dust out. On my old PC, I found dust around the I/O connectors on my sound card, around the edges of the CD-Rom drives, etc. Then I installed an intake fan and found dust on all of the fans, and all over the processor heat sink. So I decided that I wanted filters to help keep the system running cool, and NOT for health reasons. But if the dust is the problem, then no dust in = no dust out. As simple as that.
If this turns out to be a threat that cannot be controlle, that I am happy to live with it. I am not getting paranoid here. I am still getting my computer. But if I can remove even a minor source of chemials easily, I will do so. If not, then I will just live with it and not worry about it. There is a difference between taking sensible precautions if possible, and spreading panic. Douglas Adams would be proud of me
"-1 Troll" is the apparently the same as "-1 I disagree with you."