Toner/Health Risks

[Caveman]

I would like ask all of you working as field service technicians like myself, if you are aware of any potential health risks associated with long term exposure to toner powders. I've been in the industry for nearly 20 years now working as a field rep and I have always been concerned as to how breathing in and handling toner chemicals can potentially impact ones health. I have done extensive research and have talked to many individuals in the industry and have not come up with anything definitive as to whether or not this will have a negative affect on those of us who do this type of work in the years to come. Cancer and respiratory problems later on in life are of real concern. Although I take every precaution to handle equipment carefully during pm / maintenance and troubleshooting procedures there is always a percentage of the chemicals we are absorbing into our bodies either through our skin or our lungs.

If anyone has any information relevant to the concerns I raise inthis entry please post - thank you - It's for the benefit of all of us who are engaged in this type of work.

[DelawareJim]

Minimal Health Risks.....

25 years servicing copiers. I've briefly looked into this. My conclusion is that there is very little if any health risk from toners, drums, etc. Every item out there has to have by law a Material Safety Data Sheet. Every toner, every drum, every bottle of fuser oil. I have read quite a few of these MSDS reports and found very minimal, if any health risk. Some of the older stuff (back into the 80's) had some issues with the selenium drums doped with arsenic (I think if you burned them, they would emit toxic fumes) and even some of the fuser oils (I remember if you inhaled hot fuser oil you could get headaches). I feel very confident about all of the newer copiers. I will tell you I do use common sense, for example, when I am dumping developer onto newspaper, I just turn my vacuum on and set the nozzle near the developer pile. This way when the toner creates that little dust cloud, it gets sucked up by the vacuum and not into my lungs.
I think the place to take a look for health risks are the cleaners, solvents, and chemicals that we all use. I use the following and nothing else: WD40, 70% rubbing alcohol, tri-flow 2 oz. squeeze bottle, and Citri-Solv which is a citrus based non toxic solvent...smells like oranges, and I also carry a small bottle of fuser oil to lubricate fusers. The only questionable item I use is an epoxy call Plastic Welder. It is the only product that I have found that will bond and repair broken plastics and it sets up in 5 or 10 minutes. An amazing awesome awesome product. But it has a terrible smell....fumy. So I just try and use it sparingly and I'll even take it outside to use it. Again, common sense. Jim in Delaware.

[Scott_Lewis]

What do you use the WD40 for?

I'm looking for better products than what I'm currently using. Two things that I've pretty much stopped using are INX (solvent) and De-ink (another solvent).

I'm currently using a cleanser called KorKay (sp?) that I'm looking to replace with a better product. Although, I'm not unhappy with its performance ..... just looking for improvements all around. I've tried another citric type cleanser that doesn't work as well as the korkay.

[Paper_Jam]

Yeah read a Ricoh developer bag where it says "contents partially unknown" makes me a bit nervous.

[unisys12]

What do you use the WD40 for?

I'm looking for better products than what I'm currently using. Two things that I've pretty much stopped using are INX (solvent) and De-ink (another solvent).

Some use WD-40 for cleaning feed rollers. Try it, if you have a bottle lying around, the next time you have some seriously gummed up rollers.

As for overall cleaning, our shop uses Spartans SD-20
Great stuff, but I have not read the MSDS sheet. Some clients have complained about it, when cleaning the covers of their machine, but others say things like, "Wow, that smells clean!". Actually, this stuff does well enough, that I have had customers offer to buy a bottle off of me.

[kyoceradude]

I'm currently using a cleanser called KorKay (sp?) that I'm looking to replace with a better product. Although, I'm not unhappy with its performance ..... just looking for improvements all around. I've tried another citric type cleanser that doesn't work as well as the korkay.

We use Korkay. Make sure you cut the Korkay 60-40 (60% water). If you use it full strength you will need to rinse. If you don't rinse you will have funky yellow covers after a week. Although this will wash off it's best to do the job just once.

[Cipher]

Yeah read a Ricoh developer bag where it says "contents partially unknown" makes me a bit nervous.

LOL yep that certainly sounds dodgy to me.

[blackcat4866]

Gloves, Please.

Kyocera brags up thier toner as completely inert, and I believe them. The only risk I see is snorting it in place of cocaine, or cut with it.

A lot of the senior guys start to get a skin condition on the back of thier hands. My theory is that we absorb various solvents through the palms of our hands. The body captures small capsules of certain chemicals and isolates them until they work thier way back to the surface. It's just a theory, but a logical one.

If I could go back 20 years I think I'd wear latex gloves. I also wouldn't have used Trichlorethelene, Trichlorethane, Methyl Ethyl Ketone or any of those other really effective, really toxic, really flamable solvents.

[Scott_Lewis]

We use Korkay. Make sure you cut the Korkay 60-40 (60% water). If you use it full strength you will need to rinse. If you don't rinse you will have funky yellow covers after a week. Although this will wash off it's best to do the job just once.

Naaahh, I leave it at full strength. That way, if the customer ever gets ambitious enough to want to clean up their own machine now and then, they can just use a damp cloth and the korkay cleanser will already be applied for them.

Seriously, that is an idea. Up till lately, all of our machines were off-white and beige. With Ricoh putting out nearly white machines, it might become an issue. I will have to watch for that now that I know about the color issue. Thanks.

[paulg]

When my Companies H and S officer in several cleaning chemicals were banned and withdrawn straight away.

They advised we use gloves for every call, its the only item they never complain we use to many of.
The h and s officer also looked at masks but backed down when field guys and ex field guysuys in managment said we could, but i don't think the customers will be to happy.

[Anders Nilsson]

Health

My experience is this.The employers in sweden have to follow a lot of environmental regulations and quality certifications ISO 9000 and ISO14000 and so on and my own thougt's on this matter is mostly how we ourselves behave and use the tools and chemicals we are supplied with if i have a very dirty machine,do i use compressed air or a vacuumcleaner ? if i have a dirty roller do i clean it or replace it and if i clean it what detergent or cleaning fluid do i use? in one of the replies i saw a citrusoil like product.This kind of product has been reported to generate some kind of cancer,is this true? i don't know but usually i try to use as little chemical's as possible because some times the research is "political and populistic" and mostly serves the benefit of our employers and their budget.My advice is take care of yourselves and your children because we are only guest's in this world and our children have to clean up after us as we have to clean up after our parents.Sometimes common sense is the best tool.
Your's sincerely
Anders

[oldtek]

health effects of exposure to toner?

SpringerLink - Journal Article

Bladder cancer risks and causes

http://www.amicustheunion.org/pdf/Bladdercancerevidence2004.pdf

Printing Processes and Printing Inks (IARC Summary & Evaluation, Volume 65, 1996)



www.safety.gatech.edu/nanotechnology.doc



Most studies of toner exposure have concentrated on the particles effects on the lungs. They are considered to be a lung irritant but not especially hazardous. A concern over the last several years has been in the use of ultrafine particles of toner and the possibility that they can cross the blood-lung barrier. I believe all of the msds Material Safety Data Sheets were written years ago based on the toners at that time. I would like to know if the current msds papers take into account the nanoparticle toners?

I find it kind of weird to read articles in the paper or hear news stories about office workers and office equipment possible making them sick. If anyone really wanted to know the answer to the health question they know where to look. I hope they find out before I'm killed by someone driving and talking on a cellphone.

[blackcat4866]

I don't think there are much risks of crossing the blood/brain barrier, because the last time I heard toner particles were in the micrometer range=one millionth of a meter, not nanometer = one billionth of an inch.

Toner particles were one thousand times larger. Your 3M type 1 filter can capture only one micrometer size particles. Anything as small as a nanometer would blow right through your vacuum and make a pretty circle on the carpet.

[oldtek]

crossing the lung blood barrier

Of course your are correct, they aren't nanoparticles, sloppy thinking on my part, although the question about the lung blood barrier remains valid. The point about the 3m filter is a good one, the stuff should be vacuumed up and not blown about with a can of compressed air, especially by a service tech. Although the items below don't establish the negative health effects of toner I believe they help to establish that toner falls within the 2.5 micrometer standard that the epa set as a pollutant with health effects and that printers emit them. Perhaps a study should be done on office equipment older than five years and new equipment and see if there is a difference in the emisions.

Don't misunderstand me I'm not losing any sleep about whether toner is killing me. I find the question interesting and since the jury is still out, and will probably be a hung jury at that, I just try to be a little more careful while handling toner. Actually the probably more serious problem with toner in the environment is the waste stream, aren't we still just dumping that waste toner and developer in the garbage?

"A designation is the term EPA uses to describe the air quality in a given area for any of six common pollutants known as criteria pollutants. Those pollutants include fine particles, which are unhealthy to breathe and have been associated with premature mortality and other serious health effects. Fine particles are 2.5 micrometers in diameter and smaller and are also referred to as PM2.5." Fine Particle (PM2.5) Designations | US EPAQUT | ePrints Archive - Particle emission characterisitcs of office printers

[rthonpm]

The Ricoh 'Contents Parially Unkown' is just a term that the feds allow people to use to not declare what their proprietary ingredients are.

Still being a relative newbie in this business (five years or so now...) I've had the experience of feeling more concerned about what I come into contact with at customer sites. Refineries, coal mines, factories, power plants, etc: breathing in these fumes worry me more than any kind of toner or developer ever will.