Your report on the woman who caught Guillain-Barre Syndrome from photocopier fumes (Argus, June 21) is disturbing but not wholly unsurprising.

Some 60,000 different chemicals are in use in modern society, ranging from aerosols to organophosphate sheep dip to pesticides, timber sprays to chemicals in carpets, furnishings, clothes, toilet paper, paints and packaging.

The average person is exposed to a multitude of chemicals every day, often without being aware of it.

Most immune systems can cope in the short term, although those whose immune systems are defective or under abnormal stress are likely to become ill.

Chemicals may provide short-term convenience, but in the long run they could prove disastrous for mankind.

-Graham Chainey, Marine Parade, Brighton