Chinese scientists raise alarm about LCD screen pollution
/hemicals leaking from millions of computer screens in homes, offices and schools could damage human health, according to research by Chinese scientists.
Chemistry professor Su Guanyong and colleagues at Nanjing University of Science and Technology in eastern Jiangsu province studied more than 360 types of chemicals used in computer and mobile phone screens and found that 87 of them could be a danger if they got into the environment.
Some chemicals in liquid crystal displays (LCDs) could alter genes, they said. Animal cells mutated unexpectedly if exposed, and preliminary results of their ongoing study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday showed that one of the most polluted places was the home.
Su, professor at the school of environmental and biological engineering, said he had been worried about the effect of exposure to computer screens on human health for a long time.
Studies found that excessive radiation from screens could speed up the ageing of skin and blue light from diodes could harm the retina of the eye. “But nobody has looked beyond the brightness to unveil the dark secrets behind,” Su said.
In LCDs, electricity changes the structure of chemicals to control the amount and wavelength of light from each pixel.
Chemicals leaking from millions of computer screens in homes, offices and schools could damage human health, according to research by Chinese scientists.
Chemistry professor Su Guanyong and colleagues at Nanjing University of Science and Technology in eastern Jiangsu province studied more than 360 types of chemicals used in computer and mobile phone screens and found that 87 of them could be a danger if they got into the environment.
Some chemicals in liquid crystal displays (LCDs) could alter genes, they said. Animal cells mutated unexpectedly if exposed, and preliminary results of their ongoing study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday showed that one of the most polluted places was the home.
Su, professor at the school of environmental and biological engineering, said he had been worried about the effect of exposure to computer screens on human health for a long time.
Researchers said about a quarter of the chemicals from screens they tested might be pollutants. Photo: Getty
Researchers said about a quarter of the chemicals from screens they tested might be pollutants. Photo: Getty
Studies found that excessive radiation from screens could speed up the ageing of skin and blue light from diodes could harm the retina of the eye. “But nobody has looked beyond the brightness to unveil the dark secrets behind,” Su said.
In LCDs, electricity changes the structure of chemicals to control the amount and wavelength of light from each pixel.
Over the years, screen panel manufacturers have pushed LCD technology to higher resolutions and faster refreshing rates, but the chemical composition of the liquid crystal that fills their screens has hardly changed.
Su and colleagues produced a list of chemicals used by manufacturers and found that 87 – about a quarter of the substances tested – might be “persisting organic pollutants” that were not only harmful to health, but their composition meant they would take years or sometimes decades to decompose. The exact effect of these chemicals was unknown.
Su’s team went to a phone repair shop and bought used screens found in six mobile phone brands in China and abroad. “We don’t want to name them because this is not a problem of specific manufacturers. It is the whole industry,” he said.