We’ve all heard stories of the dangers of 3D printing, with fires from runaway hot ends or dodgy heated build plates being the main hazards. But what about the particulates? Can they actually cause health problems in the long run? Maybe, if new research into the carcinogenicity of common 3D printing plastics pans out.
According to authors [CheolHong Lim] and [DongSeok Seo], the research covered in this paper was undertaken because of reports of rare cancers among Korean STEM teachers, particularly those who used 3D printers in their curricula. It was thought that only long-term, continued exposure to the particulates generated by 3D printers could potentially be hazardous and that PLA was less likely to be hazardous than ABS. The study was designed to assess the potential carcinogenicity of both ABS and PLA particulates under conditions similar to what could be expected in an educational setting.
To do this, they generated particulates by heating ABS and PLA to extruder temperatures, collected and characterized them electrostatically, and dissolved them in the solvent DMSO. They used a cell line known as Balb/c, derived from fibroblasts of an albino laboratory mouse, to assess the cytotoxic concentration of each plastic, then conducted a comet assay, which uses cell shape as a proxy for DNA damage; damaged cells often take on a characteristically tailed shape that resembles a comet. This showed no significant DNA damage for either plastic.
But just because a substance doesn’t cause DNA ..
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