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Commercial 3D printers emit traces of toxic fumes, study finds (2019)

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Re: Commercial 3D printers emit traces of toxic fumes, study finds (2019)

#81

Post by tdeck »

tarotuser wrote: post #28

This is NOT new news. Same discussion, from 2015 - https://3dprintingindustry.com/news/toxic-abs-pla-fumes-3dsa... And in 3d printing groups, it was common to hear people say "ABS smells like cancer". Sure, anecdotes aren't evidence proper, but the science certainly bears this claim. Edit: And to add my own anecdote, I have a large format high temp printer. It is capable of printing stuff like ultem (375c tip, 220c b…

It sounds like the issue is particulates rather than gasses; in that case an activated carbon filter won't do much and a HEPA filter would be better.

Re: Commercial 3D printers emit traces of toxic fumes, study finds (2019)

#82

Post by louislang »

hsglch wrote: post #79

I wrote a review article summarising studies about emissions during 3D printing: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2022.119501 (Should be open-access soon) Basically you can say: - Small particles and gaseous (Volatile organic compound - VOCs) are emitted during 3D printing - these emissions can be harmful if inhaled - higher temperature results in higher emission - ABS probably more harmful than PLA --> recommendat…

What impact does an enclosure with a filter have on the emission of particles and VOCs?

Re: Commercial 3D printers emit traces of toxic fumes, study finds (2019)

#83

Post by exabrial »

So don't operate your 3d printer in an enclosed space? Sounds reasonable. You already have to do that with bleach, paint, window cleaner, stove cleaner, superglue, your car, your stove, your oven, your chainsaw, your weed wacker, your turkey fryer, when making beer from wort, and when making salsa from carolina reapers. Not that difficult to understand: open a window.

Re: Commercial 3D printers emit traces of toxic fumes, study finds (2019)

#85

Post by rmnwski »

louislang wrote: post #82
hsglch wrote: post #79

I wrote a review article summarising studies about emissions during 3D printing: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2022.119501 (Should be open-access soon) Basically you can say: - Small particles and gaseous (Volatile organic compound - VOCs) are emitted during 3D printing - these emissions can be harmful if inhaled - higher temperature results in higher emission - ABS probably more harmful than PLA --> recommendat…

What impact does an enclosure with a filter have on the emission of particles and VOCs?

Emissions will go down, no? Also depends on the filter somewhat, I guess. But from how I understand it, the emissions aren't that high to begin with. Of course breathing in metal nano-particles from filaments with additives doesn't sound that healthy...

Re: Commercial 3D printers emit traces of toxic fumes, study finds (2019)

#86

Post by drakenot »

tarotuser wrote: post #72
Scene_Cast2 wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any tips or pointers on activated carbon air filters? How do you monitor the filter capacity and know when to change it? (Especially since based on my online reading, carbon filters, unlike PM filters, just start letting VOCs through as opposed to "clogging up")

If you can get them into a shed or an outbuilding, that's 99.9% of the problem solved. You can also enclose the printer. For example, the ender3 pro has a box bag that you can put the printer in. Solves the problem. My custom printer has the activated carbon airfilter/fan. Its probably overboard, but I did have that in my workspace for a while, so it was worthwhile for the time. I have no good metric when the filters…

I have an Bambu X1 Carbon in my office and print sometimes. It has a glass enclosure and Carbon Filters, but I have no idea how effective they are.

Any ideas if having this enclosed printer in my office is a real danger?

Re: Commercial 3D printers emit traces of toxic fumes, study finds (2019)

#87

Post by marcosdumay »

olao99 wrote: post #42
tarotuser wrote: post #28

This is NOT new news. Same discussion, from 2015 - https://3dprintingindustry.com/news/toxic-abs-pla-fumes-3dsa... And in 3d printing groups, it was common to hear people say "ABS smells like cancer". Sure, anecdotes aren't evidence proper, but the science certainly bears this claim. Edit: And to add my own anecdote, I have a large format high temp printer. It is capable of printing stuff like ultem (375c tip, 220c b…

quote from the article: "The toxicity tests showed that PLA particles were more toxic than the ABS particles on a per-particle comparison, but because the printers emitted so much more of the ABS" so, not just ABS

Anybody talking about the toxicity of lactic acid on the context of perfectly fine breathable air is bull of bullshit.

And yes, we have known since forever that it is highly toxic. It's also common on your organism, on much higher concentrations than you will get from your printer.

Anyway, the common advice applies. If you get a 3D printer, use it on ventilated spaces, and if you will print with anything that isn't PLA, make sure it is well ventilated and doesn't ventilate into anybody. What really surprised me was this:

> these tests indicate that exposure to these filament particles could over time be as toxic as the air in an urban environment

I expected it to be much worse. Printing ABS does surely not smell like an urban environment. I guess a 3D printer generates much fewer silent poisons than a city.

Re: Commercial 3D printers emit traces of toxic fumes, study finds (2019)

#89

Post by treeman79 »

One of the worst migraines I ever had was triggered from being in room of 3d printers when one burnt something. Went from totally fine to I couldn’t even stand up in about 30 seconds.

Was hyper sensitive to smells at that point on in life. Perfume being the next worst. Though not nearly that bad.

Re: Commercial 3D printers emit traces of toxic fumes, study finds (2019)

#90

Post by [deleted] »

tarotuser wrote: post #28

This is NOT new news. Same discussion, from 2015 - https://3dprintingindustry.com/news/toxic-abs-pla-fumes-3dsa... And in 3d printing groups, it was common to hear people say "ABS smells like cancer". Sure, anecdotes aren't evidence proper, but the science certainly bears this claim. Edit: And to add my own anecdote, I have a large format high temp printer. It is capable of printing stuff like ultem (375c tip, 220c b…

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