ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, September 8, 1996 TAG: 9609090076
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A8 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: LONDON
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
A nonsmoker developed lung disease, apparently from intensive work with a photocopier, according to a letter in this week's edition of the medical journal Lancet.
The letter by three University of Vienna doctors said that, for a year, the 39-year-old man had had a dry cough and felt breathless after moderate exertion. Tests showed inflammation of the lung tissue and enlargements of lymph nodes.
Dr. Christine Armbruster, the team leader and a lung specialist with expertise in respiratory toxic effects at Vienna's Pulmonary Center, said she first thought he was suffering from an immunological disorder.
But a review of the patient's history led her to think otherwise. The man had worked for 18 months in computer-based data collection at a newspaper agency.
``The patient told me he was working with the photocopier and was changing the toner,'' Armbruster said Saturday. ``There was a lot of dust around the toner, I thought it could be due to inhalation of this dust.''
Biopsies showed that pigment particles in his lungs and lymph nodes contained identical amounts of copper and silicon to dust from photocopier toner.
LENGTH: Short : 34 linesby CNB