I have looked at the product data safety sheets on the HP site and it claims that the levels of ozone, dust and VOCs released during printing are very low (in the case of ozone it claims to be too low to measure), however I have had complaints of headaches, red eyes, coughing/sneezing and 'blocked feeling' in throat and general breathing, all of which sound very like the result of ozone exposure.
The printer is situated in a 'well ventilated' area and is not too close to any workstations, however HP give no guidance for good situation other than simply saying place it in a "well ventilated" area. Well what exactly does that constitute to? I suppose the windows aren't open all the time nor are there any extraction fans in the area, but I've never seen a printer installed where that is considered the norm. Also the use of the printer is very light.
Is there something wrong with the printer? Does this model even release ozone at all? If the HP emission values are correct then in my setup there should be no problems.
My only other thought on this is that it seemed to be worse whilst we were printing rough documents on cheap, generic 'office paper' (which does say it can be used in laserjet printers), so could this have left more toner particles etc. in the air, thus causing a stronger reaction?
I will contact HP soon, it's just we can't have the vital printer giving everyone long lasting headaches.
Oh, also I've heard that printers, photocopiers etc. emit higher concentrations of nasties when they're new, and when they've been 'broken in' this goes down. Is there any truth in that?
Thank you very much