Psychological and cognitive effects of laser printer emissions: A controlled exposure study

Abstract

The possible impact of ultrafine particles from laser printers on human health is controversially discussed although there are persons reporting substantial symptoms in relation to these emissions. A randomized, single-blinded, cross-over experimental design with two exposure conditions (high-level and low-level exposure) was conducted with 23 healthy subjects, 14 subjects with mild asthma, and 15 persons reporting symptoms associated with laser printer emissions. To separate physiological and psychological effects, a secondary physiologically based categorization of susceptibility to particle effects was used. In line with results from physiological and biochemical assessments, we found no coherent, differential, or clinically relevant effects of different exposure conditions on subjective complaints and cognitive performance in terms of attention, short-term memory, and psychomotor performance. However, results regarding the psychological characteristics of participants and their situational perception confirm differences between the participants groups: Subjects reporting symptoms associated with laser printer emissions showed a higher psychological susceptibility for adverse reactions in line with previous results on persons with multiple chemical sensitivity or idiopathic environmental intolerance. In conclusion, acute psychological and cognitive effects of laser printer emissions were small and could be attributed only to different participant groups but not to differences in exposure conditions in terms of particle number concentrations. K E Y W O R D Scognitive performance, exposure, idiopathic environmental intolerance, laser printer emission, multiple chemical sensitivity, subjective complaints

Review of the characteristics and possible health effects of particles emitted from laser printing devices

“…While the technical quality of the measurement data from the cited work is beyond dispute, it has to be kept in mind that experimental findings from cell culture and animal studies can often not be directly transferred to real‐world settings and carefully controlled human studies in realistic exposure settings are much needed. Currently, the controlled human exposure study reported in Karrasch et al and Herbig et al represents the most comprehensive and diligent investigation of short‐term health effects of LPD‐emitted particles to date. Despite a high particle concentration throughout an exposure period of more than one hour, the observed reactions were slight to very slight and could not be convincingly classified as clinically significant.…”

“…The studies discussed so far are in categories (a) to (c). The results of a human study under controlled conditions were first published by Karrasch et al and Herbig et al A total of 52 persons were each exposed to emissions from laser printers in a test chamber for 75 minutes. Twenty‐three persons were healthy, 15 persons (affected) had reported symptoms related to printer emissions prior to the studies, and 14 persons were patients with mild asthma.…”

Acute health effects of desktop 3D printing (fused deposition modeling) using acrylonitrile butadiene styrene and polylactic acid materials: An experimental exposure study in human volunteers

“…The study took place in an exposure chamber of volume 32 m 3 that is in use for occupational and environmental exposures . The air conditioning system was turned off during exposures in order to avoid a clearance of particles and to ensure a realistic setting, as most 3D printers are operated at home without ventilation, because of unwanted warping of the printed object if exposed to a temperature gradient.…”

“…[5][6][7] For laser printer devices, potential health risks from UFP have already been extensively discussed, and the available studies are ranging from cell culture experiments 8,9 to human exposures. 10,11 The UFP produced by 3D printers are also generated from volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as primary emissions of these printers, 6,7,[12][13][14][15] but with large differences between the types of plastic filaments used. [15][16][17][18] Therefore, in principle 3D printers also could pose a health risk, especially if they are used for personal purposes in the absence of professional protection measures.…”

“…They are advertised even for children as a means for creating toys, although known to produce ultrafine particles (UFP) . For laser printer devices, potential health risks from UFP have already been extensively discussed, and the available studies are ranging from cell culture experiments to human exposures . The UFP produced by 3D printers are also generated from volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as primary emissions of these printers, but with large differences between the types of plastic filaments used .…”