Evaluation of 3-D Printer Emissions and Personal Exposures at a Manufacturing Workplace

Details

• Personal Author:
  Hammond, Duane R. ; Johnson, Alyson R. ; Knepp, Alycia K. ; LeBouf, Ryan F. ; Stefaniak, Aleksandr B.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  We evaluated volatile organic compound and particle emissions from fused deposition modeling™ 3-D printers using poly lactic acid and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene thermoplastics and measured personal exposures to total and specific volatile organic compounds. The 3-dimensional printers emitted both volatile organic compounds and small particles during operation. Levels of all individual volatile organic compounds that were quantified on personal samples were well below applicable occupational exposure limits and guidelines. None of the employees reported any respiratory symptoms. At this time, we do not recommend any controls to lower exposures as they are already well-below established regulatory limits. Similarly, at this time we do not recommend the need to lower total particle number and total volatile organic chemical concentrations as there is no available guidance on appropriate levels. It is important to note that 3-D printing has not been thoroughly evaluated to determine its safety. As such, new information may become available in the future which may change our current perspective on the necessity of controls.
• Subjects:
  Butadienes Environmental Exposure Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Particulate Matter Printing Printing, Three-Dimensional Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Solvents Styrene Ventilation Workplace

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• Keywords:
  3D Printer 3D Printing Acrylonitrile Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene Emission Sources Employee Exposure Employee Health Employees Exposure Levels Health Effects Nanoparticles Organic Chemicals Organic Compounds OSHA Region 6 Particulates Poly Lactic Acid Printer-emitted Particles Printers Risk Factors Three Dimensional Vapors Ventilation Systems Volatile Organic Compounds Work Environment Worker Health Workers Worker Safety

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• Source:
  Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, HHE 2017-0059-3291, 2017 Aug ; :1-42
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHHE201700593291
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Texas ; OSHA Region 6
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  RHD - Respiratory Health Division ; DART - Division of Applied Research and Technology
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  49 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Burns, Dru A. ; McClelland, Tia L. ; Tift, Brian
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20050253
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2018-100068
• Citation:
  NIOSH [2017]. Health hazard evaluation report: evaluation of 3-D printer emissions ; and personal exposures at a manufacturing workplace. By Stefaniak AB, Hammond ; D, Johnson AR, Knepp AK, LeBouf RF. Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health ; and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute ; for Occupational Safety and Health, NIOSH HHE Report No. 2017-0059-3291,
• CAS Registry Number:
  Acrylonitrile (CAS RN 107-13-1)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2017
• NORA Priority Area:
  Manufacturing
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  323111 - Commercial Printing (except Screen and Books) - (NAICS)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:84b8e85ea33071a4f2f2bb9beeb57e3440c7f3e652228ae4ec1c8740e519dc7936e9aec0f72b54aec9387f85f3808fe5f1d743a8807367d5ed615f2c88c4cd81
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172384/cdc_172384_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.47 MB ]