Health Update: Copier 'caused lung damage'

EXCESSIVE exposure to photocopiers can cause lung damage, says a report in the Lancet. It describes the case of a 44-year-old Spanish woman who developed coughs and breathlessness after working full-time in a photocopying shop for six years and was found to have a lung disease caused by inhalation of mineral dusts. An analysis of photocopy dust collected at the workplace and a lung biopsy showed the presence in both of iron and silicone.