Household dust hosts toxic chemicals from LCD screens

Liquid crystal monomers are used to make a variety of electronics, including smartphones, televisions, computer displays and solar panels. New research suggests these materials contain a variety of toxic chemicals, which tests showed can leach into everyday environs. "These chemicals are semi-liquid and can get into the environment at any time during manufacturing and recycling, and they are vaporized during burning," lead researcher John Giesy, an environmental toxicologist at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, said in a news release. "Now we also know that these chemicals are being released by products just by using them." For the new study, Giesy and his international team of research partners looked at the chemicals used in 362 of the most common liquid crystal monomers, surveying the scientific literature for evidence of each chemical's toxicity.