Chemicals commonly used in smartphone, television, and computer displays were found to be potentially toxic and present in nearly half of dozens of samples of household dust collected by a team of toxicologists led by the University of Saskatchewan (USask).
The international research team, led by USask environmental toxicologist John Giesy, is sounding the alarm about liquid crystal monomers—the chemical building blocks of everything from flat screen TVs to solar panels—and the potential threat they pose to humans and the environment.
“These chemicals are semi-liquid and can get into the environment at any time during manufacturing and recycling, and they are vaporized during burning. Now we also know that these chemicals are being released by products just by using them,” said Giesy, Canada Research Chair in Environmental Toxicology at USask.
“We don’t know yet whether this a problem, but we do know that people are being exposed, and these chemicals have the potential to cause adverse effects,” said Giesy.
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Image via University of Saskatchewan.