Are you choking on toner fumes? A study by the Queensland Institute of Technology is receiving a great deal of attention today, as researchers found that in concentrated environments, laserjet dust could equal the levels of particulates found in homes of people who smoke. (Edit: Printer analyst David Stone points out that the smog could be toner, paper dust, or a combination of the two.)

This should be of concern to most of you, as studies have found that internal air quality can be worse than outdoors. It's one reason that smoking has been banned indoors and restaurants -- without proper ventilation, there really is a "no smoking" area.

However, while the study is sophisticated, it's really just a jumping-off point for further research.

The study originally was designed to look at the efficacy of an office building's HVAC (cooling) system. The study's authors then looked at which office equipment were causing the most particulates, and identified the 62 laser printers as the chief culprits of the smog.

Here's where the study breaks down somewhat. Of the 62 printers, 42 printers were different models. And, of those, 34 were manufactured by HP. So, statistically, the HP printers should have a greater statistical likelihood of being identified as high emitters of airborne particles, and they were. Now, is it fair to characterize HP as a manufacturer of toner-spewing printers? Without more comprehensive testing, I think it's fair to simply note the correlation, without drawing conclusions -- as the researchers did.

On the other hand, I find it hard to believe that HP, as the world's largest printer manufacturer, wouldn't have it own research to add to the pot. So far, HP hasn't responded to my requests for that information, which is a tad suspicious.

One other note: the "cigarette" comparisons you're seeing in this post and elsewhere came from a test of the printer inside a one-meter-wide glass testing area. So if you've got a cubicle next to the printer shack, move. And let's hope that we see more research in this area. I suspect we will.