Buyer Beware Of 3-D Printer Emissions

Source: Chemical & Engineering News, January 25, 2016
Author: Jyllian Kemsley 

As costs of three-dimensional printers drop and the devices increasingly make their way into offices, schools, and homes, users should consider how to limit exposure to emissions of particles and gases in the space where the printer is located. This caution stems from research by a team led by Brent Stephens of Illinois Institute of Technology and Neil E. Crain of the University of Texas, Austin ... . The researchers tested the emissions of five commercially available desktop 3-D polymer-extrusion printers for ultrafine particles, which have a diameter less than 100 nm, and volatile organic compounds, including caprolactam and styrene. They used the printers to make a standard part from nine different polymer filament starting materials. The emissions varied more by the type of material than they did by the type of printer. Modeling the emissions in a 45 m³ air-conditioned office, the team predicts that caprolactam and styrene would reach concentrations that could be harmful to health.

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See original article in Environmental Science & Technology, "Emissions of Ultrafine Particles and Volatile Organic Compounds from Commercially Available Desktop Three-Dimensional Printers with Multiple Filaments".

BPS, like BPA, disrupts estrogen and thyroid hormones.

BPA-free plastic alternatives may not be safe as you think   by Sandee LaMotte February 1, 2016, CNN http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/01/health/bpa-free-alternatives-may-not-be-safe/index.html

BPA-free alternatives may be no safer than BPA, say researchers.   Most common alternative, BPS, linked in study to disruptions of estrogen and thyroid hormones

(CNN)Your "BPA-free" plastic product may be no safer than the product it replaced, says a new UCLA study that analyzed the impact of a common BPA alternative on zebra fish embryos. The study joins a small but growing group of similar research sounding the alarm about so called "BPA-free" alternatives.

"Our findings are frightening and important," said senior author and reproductive endocrinologist Nancy Wayne. "Consider it the aquatic version of the canary in the coal mine."

After decades of animal research linked BPA (Bisphenol A), a known endocrine disruptor, to problems with brain and reproductive development, early puberty and a rise in breast and prostate cancer, many manufacturers stopped using the chemical to harden plastics, replacing it with "BPA-free" alternatives. The most common replacement is BPS (Bisphenol S), said Wayne....

...The Breast Cancer Fund recommends that consumers wishing to limit exposure to possible toxins in BPA, BPS and other alternatives use glass, stainless steel and food safe ceramic containers for food and water storage. They stress that it's not safe to microwave in plastic. Other suggestions include using gloves to handle thermal paper receipts, and researching canned goods to find those that no longer use plastic liners.

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