How Safe Are Video Display Terminals?

COMPUTER video display terminals (VDT’s), such as used for word processing, have been rapidly replacing typewriters and other office machines in many businesses. The terminals look much like television screens attached to a keyboard. Like television screens, they emit low levels of nonionizing radiation. As a result, their safety has repeatedly been called into question, especially since the user is sitting so close to them.

The concern of many was again raised recently by the results of a study of 1,583 pregnant women in California. The study found that women who used VDT’s more than 20 hours a week during early pregnancy had nearly twice as many miscarriages as other office workers who did not use them. Admittedly, the study did not prove that radiation from the VDT’s was responsible for the increased number of miscarriages. In fact, one authority asserted: “It seems clear that the problem is the factorylike environment so many VDT operators work in, not the machine itself.”

Yet, other authorities recommend caution. Michael Polen, one of the researchers involved in the California study, is one of these. He pointed to the fact that earlier studies on animal embryos showed that the type of radiation emitted from VDT’s disrupted cellular growth.

The editor of VDT News was another who cautioned pregnant women to be careful. He said: “I think any woman who is pregnant, or trying to become pregnant, should play it safe and stop working on a VDT.”