Workers in factories that make flat screen televisions could suffer long-term health damage, say scientists. A healthy 30-year-old man developed a serious lung disease after being exposed to a type of metal used to coat the screens. Doctors at Toranomon Hospital in Tokyo found tiny deposits of the metal in the man’s lungs, according to a report in the European Respiratory Journal. But British consumers have been assured buying the televisions poses no risk. A spokeswoman for the Information, Technology, Telecommunications and Electronics Association, known as Intellect, said: “These screens are manufactured in the Far East and by the time they reach the UK, they are totally sealed. “There is no health risk whatsoever to UK buyers.” Flat screen TVs are proving more popular than ever. Sony, the world’s largest consumer-electronics group, recently announced it was struggling to meet demand in Europe, with sales doubling in the six months to September. But now Japanese doctors have raised concerns about whether this boom is threatening the health of employees who make them.
