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Stephen Hutton
Member - 21 posts
Whilst carrying out a review of the Risk Assessments within the office a colleague of mine has asked about the link between printer dust and cancer. She sits beside the printer and although we are moving the printer to more suitable position can anyone shed any light on this subject. Is this true, if so is there a distance that should be maintained?
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Nigel Hale
Member - 13 posts
Presuming that we are talking about standard office laser printers and the like...
Your first port of call should be to read the manufacturers 'Material Safety Data Sheet' for your toner cartridges. HP ones are available on the net if you search around. You must however form your own opinion on the safety and can not legally rely entirely on manufacturers MSDs! Only you can do the required risk assessment for your work place and the way you use your printers.
Having said that, provided that they are used and handled in accordance with the manufacturers instructions they are not generally considered to be hazardous with the current state of knowledge. I have not seen any documented links between exposure from normal dust leves from laser printers and cancer but I do know of cases of staff having allergic reactions to contact with toner. It would therefore be sensible, if you have any such staff, to ensure that they are not asked to change toner cartridges.
Since some printers can produce low levels of ozone it is sensible to position them in well ventilated areas a sensible distance away from staff. You should also ensure that manufacturers instructions are followed regarding maintenance of filters and cleaning up of toner spills.
I hope that this helps.
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Bill Parker
Member - 55 posts
Laser printers and other that use electrostatic deposition, tend to use inks that are carbonaceous. Small particles are respirable. Respirable particles are defined as those having a diamter between 0.5 and 10 Microns. Carbon is not carcinogenic, in itself but exposure beyond the Occupational Exposure Limits, set by the HSE and published as Guidance EH40/-, may lead to diseases such as Emphysema.
Printers use heated elements and oil, in deposition and Ketones and Alkenes in the oil may cause small concentrations of toxic fume. The manufacturer of the printer/ink may have COSHH data for the dyes and oils used but it is very unlikely they will provide you details on the products of combustion (or partial oxidisation).
The current OEL for Carbonaceous smoke is 5 milligrammes per cubic metre; at which level, the particulate is usually visible in strong light. If you can not see it or smell it, it is possible but unlikely that there will be any pernicious effect from it. Likewise, if the room is ventilated, the concentration of Ozone will not exceed the OEL.
If you continue to be worried, we carry out analyses for airborne toxins; both quantitative and qualitative, dependent on the environment, which form part of an analytic risk assessment. This would confirm whether you have a problem or not.
If you need further information call 01952 461541
Helios Safety & Rescue
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Anonymous
As already mentioned, Risk or Coshh assessment should be conducted. Therefore obtain the MSDS in the first instance and go from there. I have assessed a number of printer cartridges and have found that generally the dust only becomes a problem in large quantities over long periods of time. Any risk assessment for use and changing them should reflect the need to avoid toner dust becoming airborne (handle with care)and to ensure good personal hygiene (wash your hands after contact). Ideally your assessment needs to reflect spill clean up procedures, should one be damaged and therefore excreting a lot of powder.
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George Bebbington - Bureau Veritas HS&E Ltd
Online advisor - 3 posts
Stephen,
When carrying out an exposure risk assessment the first step is to gather information i.e. examine the manufactures Material Safety Data Sheet, investigate data bases, other counties exposure limits, guidance from WHO etc. Information given in MSDSs can be of varying quality and always make sure that you have the latest issue. When searching the internet beware of the source of the information as it is not always well researched!
Many toner suppliers sometimes have an ?in-house? guidance exposure limit of 2mg/m3 as total inhalable dust, this is actually quite a dusty atmosphere when you consider that normal background levels of general dust in offices are around one tenth of this. Anyone who has split the smallest quantity of toner powder will know a little goes a long way, thus if there is any toner powder escaping from the printer there should be evidence of black dust deposits in the area.
Ozone is produced in small quantities by laser printers but providing that machines are regularly maintained and filters fitted correctly ozone exposure should not be a problem.
Many offices have numerous PCs, screens, people etc all producing heat, this often results in elevated temperatures and reduced humidity, leading to a range of complaints, therefore it not a bad idea to separate larger printers that produce significant heat from general office areas. This would also eliminate noise from the printer interfering with normal speech levels.
Even when the risk assessment indicates insignificant risk it is sometimes necessary to carry out some re-assurance monitoring.
Current knowledge would indicate that there is no evidence of a link between cancer and exposure to low concentrations of toner powder
George Bebbington - Casella Winton
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Anonymous
It is wise when handling toner, that if the hands are covered to a large degree with toner, they should be washed in cold water and soap and not hot water, as there is a possibility of the toner being 'fixed' to the skin.
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