# Is carbonless paper injuring and killing people? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 1, 2000, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-carbonless-paper-injuring-and-killing-people/8064 "2000-03-01T23:43:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr.Zambezi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7cd45c/32.png) [@Mr.Zambezi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Zambezi)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2000, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-carbonless-paper-injuring-and-killing-people/8064/1 "2000-03-01T23:43:00Z")
According to a woman who is sending out e-mails to the insurance community, carbonless paper is injury thousands of people every day. IT is no suprise that there are chemicals in the paper, but the info I have seen indicated that the concentration in the air is less than .7 parts per million. This sounds like hokum. Does anyone have any info? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2000, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-carbonless-paper-injuring-and-killing-people/8064/2 "2000-03-02T01:02:00Z")
You forgot to factor in the paper cuts. * * * “What we have here is failure to communicate.” – Strother Martin, anticipating the Internet. [www.sff.net/people/rothman](http://www.sff.net/people/rothman) ---
**Author:** ![Yeah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/dbc845/32.png) [@Yeah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeah)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2000, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-carbonless-paper-injuring-and-killing-people/8064/3 "2000-03-02T02:55:00Z")
They won’t admit it, but the hospitals are all at 110% occupancy because of carbonless paper syndrome (CPS). Just last week, we buried seven members of my church who succumbed to the toxins. I heard from a guy I met that the government is secretly converting mothballed aircraft carriers into transport ships so they can hide the thousands of deaths by shipping the bodies to Mozambique. (They figure they can dump them in the floodwaters and nobody will notice the extra corpses.) ---
**Author:** ![Cowboy\_Greg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Cowboy\_Greg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cowboy_Greg)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2000, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-carbonless-paper-injuring-and-killing-people/8064/4 "2000-03-02T03:07:00Z")
I was skeptical about the thousands of injuries daily (paper cuts aside), but this rather breathless [web site](http://www.carbonless.org/) certainly does paint a less-than-rosy picture of the stuff. I suspect, though, that the true picture (as usual) will be found by averaging the paper producer’s “our product is completely harmless” stance and the “the chemicals in carbonless paper are potent carcinogens and if you use it don’t be suprised if you keel over dead tomorrow” statements. All I can say for sure is that, while I’ve never had watery eyes, sore throat, or any of the other symptoms that are claimed, my fingertips _have_ felt awful damn strange after handling the stuff for any extended period of time – certainly not what happens handling any _other_ paper product. Take it with whatever amount of salt you require… * * * Shared pain is lessened; shared joy is increased. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Zambezi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7cd45c/32.png) [@Mr.Zambezi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Zambezi)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2000, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-carbonless-paper-injuring-and-killing-people/8064/5 "2000-03-02T22:48:00Z")
Ha, the nut who authored this site is the one who is sending us the e-mails. What gets me is the symptoms. conjunctival irritation nose, throat discomfort headache allergic skin reaction dyspnea (a distressful sensation of uncomfortable breathing that may be caused by certain heart conditions, strenuous exercise, or anxiety) declines in serum cholinesterase levels nausea, emesis epittaxis (nosebleed) (formaldehyde) fatigue dizziness I feel dizzy, am a little tired, have a headache and have asthma…It must be the result of evil corporations poisoning me with paper. I would like to see some objective evidence, but I have a feeling that most of what is out there is subjective. The documents on the carbonless website not only sound nutty, but don’t make their case. All that they they have proved is that, like a billion other things, there are chemicals in CCP. ---
**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2000, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-carbonless-paper-injuring-and-killing-people/8064/6 "2000-03-02T23:32:00Z")
I don’t know about cancer and the like, but back in the days when I was an auditor I had to root around in dusty file rooms with boxes of carbonless paper forms. I would have to open sealed boxes of the stuff and would get a big whiff of the chemicals that had been leaching out of the for months. After doing this for a few hours, I had the symptoms of headache, nose & throat discomfort, and difficulty breathing (at least until I got fresh air). I only had to do this a few weeks, but I can’t imagine what it would do to you if you had to work in warehouses full of the stuff all day. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Zambezi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7cd45c/32.png) [@Mr.Zambezi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Zambezi)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2000, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-carbonless-paper-injuring-and-killing-people/8064/7 "2000-03-03T20:37:00Z")
I have no doubt that it is stinky and that working with it as you did causes temporary discomfort. But the connection with chronic fatige syndrome, multiple chemical sensitivity, achy joints, etc. is dubious. ---
**Author:** ![jb\_farley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9d8465/32.png) [@jb\_farley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jb_farley)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2002, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-carbonless-paper-injuring-and-killing-people/8064/8 "2002-03-30T07:55:39Z")
what to think? a man roots around in a file room, going through old smelly carbonless copy paper. if it _ **was** _ the CCP that made **Billdo** sick, i can justify it. from what i remember, CCP is based on the same system as scratch-n-sniff stickers. little chemical-filled microcapsules. and i’m sure that we humans don’t encounter the compounds found within those microcapsules all to often. so i’m positive that the compounds responsible for carbonless copying _might_ cause some people considerable distress. but before i swear to that explanation, i remember that the room was dusty. and i remember what dust does to my breathing. still, i don’t know if **Billdo** ’s sensitive to dust like i am, or (if he is) if he suffered worse that day than he normally does. i love anecdotal evidence. so… real-world confusing. jb ---
**Author:** ![Urban\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Urban\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urban_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2002, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-carbonless-paper-injuring-and-killing-people/8064/9 "2002-03-30T12:37:49Z")
This is so hilarious 😃 Look at the symptoms. Those are minor discomforts you can get everyday just by sitting in front of a desk for long periods of time. Another thing is just because the chemicals are irritants doen’t mean they are carcinogens. That requires a great leap of faith. I am not ruling out the possiblity of that stuff being nasty, but let me see some evidence first. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2002, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-carbonless-paper-injuring-and-killing-people/8064/10 "2002-03-30T14:45:12Z")
For some reason, my fingertips get numb after a few minutes of handling carbonless copy paper. I’ve never been able to understand why this is, but at least I know I’m not alone in suffering from contact with the Devil’s TP.