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

Abstract

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made. AbstractMany studies have shown that the use of laser printing devices (LPDs) contributes to the release of particles into the indoor environment. However, after more than two decades of research, the physicochemical properties of LPD-emitted particles and the possible health effects from exposure to particles are still heavily debated.We therefore carried out a critical review of the published studies around emissions and health effects of LPD-emitted particles, aiming at elucidating the nature of these particles and their potential health risks. Realizing the varying methodologies of the studies, a classification of the reviewed studies is adopted, resulting in three categories of emission studies (chamber experiment, office/room measurement, and photocopy shop measurement), and three types of health studies (in vitro/animal studies, human studies in the real world, and human studies in controlled settings).The strengths and limitations of each type of study are discussed in-depth, which in turn helps to understand the cause of divergent results. Overall, LPD-emitted particles are mainly condensed or secondary-formed semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs), while solid toner particles account for a very small fraction. The health risk from exposure to LPD-emitted particles is small compared with the health risk from exposure to ambient particles. K E Y W O R D S emission, exposure, indoor air quality, laser printer, particulate matter, risk | 397 GU et al.

Number of Fine Particles’ and Their Mass Concentration: Comparison of Emission of New Printing Technology Versus Traditional Laser Technology

“…On the other hand, measurements in, for example, office cover the concentration of particles in the real world, but face the challenge that other indoor pollutants or factors may also have an impact on the measurement results. At present, determination of the values of nanoparticles emitted from office equipment and assessing the impact on health is especially important as there is growing evidence of effects from poor indoor air to health [14].…”

“…The number of particles released, their mass, as well as their composition and even diameter, surface area and shape are important and might affect health of workers. The typical size range of particles emitted from printers is 2 -30 µm, they are influenced by the design, technical parameters and technology of the printer, as well as the paper used for printing [14].…”

“…Here and in the other results the tendency for the number of particles to be higher not during the printing test, but after it was observed. It could be caused by the condensation processes of the aerosol particles, as well as the fact that the test was performed indoors instead of in a test chamber where emitted particles are perceived faster [14], [16]. Comparing the 10-page test for both types of b/w printer models, laser printer detected four times more particles during the print test and more than 16 times after the test.…”

Berufskrankheiten der Atemwege und der Lunge

“…Laserdruckeremissionen führen zu einer erhöhten Belastung der Innenraumluft mit Nanopartikeln. Unzureichender Luftwechsel scheint zu irritativen Symptomen beizutragen [4]. Kontrollierte Expositionsstudien [6,12] ergaben keine Anhaltspunkte für objektiv messbare pathophysiologische Prozesse, die mit den berichteten Beschwerden korrespondierten.…”

Indoor and Outdoor Nanoparticle Concentrations in an Urban Background Area in Northern Sweden: The NanoOffice Study

“…Indoor sources of nanoparticles include cooking, burning candles, and release from several types of construction materials [19]. In occupational environments, nanoparticles are also generated in combustion, in mechanical processes involving massive amounts of energy, as well as emissions from office equipment [20,21]. Since people spend 80−90% of their time indoors on average [22], exposure assessments focusing on indoor air are especially important.…”