Plasma, LCD production may pose worker health risk
By Marc Perton 
posted Dec 31st 2004 2:37AM
posted Dec 31st 2004 2:37AM
We had no idea, but workers in factories producing LCD and plasma monitors and TVs apparently face risk of serious lung diseases, according to a BBC report. The culprit is indium-tin oxide (ITO), a material commonly used to coat glass in the production of displays. Experts quoted by the BBC say flat panels are safe by the time they reach the consumer market, and that risks are limited to workers in factories that produce the screens. So, great news if you can afford to buy that 50-inch plasma display; lousy news if you've got a job making them.
up go the prices...?
Those workers must be dying to get a plasma/lcd screen :-)
*sorry*
Actually thats a bit misleading of them to say, as the manufacturers take the highest possible care to minimze or eliminate exposure. The manufacturers do so for three reasons. The first and most obvious is the fear of litigation if a worker were to become ill. The second is the fact that in a very competitve market they can ill afford to waste the rather costly chemicals needed in production of lcd and plasma displays. The third reason is the internal and (external (read goverment and industry)) oversight and regulatory bodies would never allow such dangerous practices.
p.s. I do not work for anyone in the industry
Cheers,
David
Dave,
You are a bit naive, if we are to believe your rhetoric the article should be impossible, yet a case has been reported (that we are aware of, many more may have been misdiagnosed {the history of asbestosis springs to mind}). Not all countries have litigious societies.
-- Paul
::Note, I am not the same "Dave" that you responded to::
Hey Paul,
May I suggest some reading comprehension courses..
"Actually thats a bit misleading of them to say, as the manufacturers take the highest possible care to minimze or eliminate exposure." - Dave.
Sure sounds like he was saying it was not impossible, just that the manufacturers would try as hard as possible to avoid such problems.
Cheers,
David