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Health Consequences of CRT Monitors?

Posted by Cliff on from the invisible-death-rays dept.

DigiMan asks: "I was wondering, what are the effects of working on a CRT are on your health - long term. It has recently bothered me that EVERYONE seems to be switching to LCD's - I noticed that Bill Gates was one of the 1st people to do this, even when the cost was super high, and many, many government offices switched to the much more expensive LCD's - despite budget cuts and having to go with the lowest bidder strategy they operate under. Was this ONLY for style and space savings? Is there some health consequence that no one talks about publically. I know that they do emit very low amounts of X-Rays and have a 60Hz magnetic field as well as a 12.5 kHz electro magnetic field (for the raster scan). I work in front of typically 3, 19" CRT's for 12 - 16 hours per day at an average distance of 18". Can these magnetic fields cause Leukemia, or anything else? Is being behind the a cathode ray tube that bad for you?"

10 of 306 comments (clear)

  1. Yes by geekoid · · Score: 4, Insightful

    they may cause you to loose a sense of humor and whine about stories posted on April 1st.

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  2. Even Bill Gates? by PopeAlien · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I noticed that Bill Gates was one of the 1st people to do this, even when the cost was super high ..yeah, cause I'm sure the cost is a big concern for him huh?

    --
    air and light and time and space
  3. scientific tests? by Comsn · · Score: 4, Insightful

    any scientific tests to show CRT cause eyesight problems?

    doctors say to take breaks, when doing lots of reading, be it lcd/crt/book/newspaper anyways...

  4. Re:Bad for your eyes by snuf23 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Modern CRTs and video cards can handle resolutions higher than 60Hz. Admittedly some stupid companies ship computers with the refresh rate set to 60. You should be able to run it at 72Hz or higher depending on your monitor, video card and resolution.
    I am running 1280x1024 res at 75Hz using a 5 year old video card and monitor.

    --
    Sometimes my arms bend back.
  5. Re:Probably bad for eyesight. by Leadhyena · · Score: 3, Insightful
    I have firsthand experience to the easing of the eyes created by switching to LCD screens. I run an IT department at a trucking firm, and recently converted our dispatch department to LCD screens. Immediately there was a noticed difference; the dispatchers didn't get the headaches that they used to get at the end of the week from spending 5 days staring at a CRT screen, and they also commented on better eyesight in general (one dispatcher uses a higher resolution now that he can see the screen better).

    I think the "healthiness" of the LCD screens as opposed to the CRT screens has to do with the flicker. On an LCD the pixels don't fade, so there's not that pulsing and required brightness as there is with a CRT display. Ask anyone who has discovered their HZ setting on their monitor drivers and pressed the HZ from 60 to 75 what effect the flicker has on eyesight problems with CRTs. Some people can't even look at a 60hz screen for longer than a minute without it hurting their eyes. Think of a CRT as a finely tuned array of strobe lights and you'll understand why LCDs are better on the eyes.

  6. The real reason: by temojen · · Score: 4, Insightful

    LCDs use less electricity, and don't flicker.

  7. Re:More than just extra space. by kidgenius · · Score: 3, Insightful
    they don't produce any radiation.

    And you see the image on the monitor how?

  8. What has worked for me... by ErikTheRed · · Score: 4, Insightful

    1) I've been wearing rigid gas-permeable contact lenses for 22 years now (not the same set, and I take them out at night you smart-asses). I notice that when I wear these versus glasses, I can stare at most monitors for a long time without significant strain.

    2) Use the best CRT monitor you can get your hands on. I've noticed that my eyestrain actually goes up working on my laptop versus my CRT (a 22" NEC MultiSync FP-series set to the highest possible resolution and very tiny fonts). It's one of those things you have to try for a few days before you realize how nice it is.

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  9. Re:Everything causes cancer by InternationalCow · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Sorry, magnetic field are incapable of causing cancer. What causes cancer are relatively gross changes to the genetic material that lead to hyperactivity or inactivity of genes that are crucial for normal cell cycling. Some scientists believe that you actually need chromosomal rearrangements for cancer to occur (meaning malignancy, ie an invasive and metastatizing process). Indeed, most malignancies show these rearrangements. I can assure you that magnetic fields are not capable of causing this kind of damage. They cannot even cause point mutations. Obviously, ionizing radiation can, but AFAIK you don't get that from a CRT. People complaining about hypersensitivity to magnetic fields are like those suffering from multiple chemical sensitivity syndrome - they suffer from something, but the cause is entirely imaginary, fueled by magical thinking. CRT's do not make you ill. You get a headache from squinting or sitting slumped in your seat, at most.

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    ----- One learns to itch where one can scratch.
  10. Don't worry by groomed · · Score: 3, Insightful

    . I work in front of typically 3, 19" CRT's for 12 - 16 hours per day at an average distance of 18". Can these magnetic fields cause Leukemia, or anything else?

    Don't worry, you'll probably die of a heart attack long before the leukemia kills you.