Hi

I cant give you some paper - but for our Experiment we conducted serveral experiments on bio - compatibility of abs and pla on Euglena Gracilis.

as long as you are using colorless Material the Cells are not effected by the Material.

Some trouble could occur if you are using PLA because some Organism "love" this Material and degrade it - but with ABS there are no such effects visible.

Greeds

There's a paper on particle emission during printing:  For most materials this is the most 'volatile' point in the process, where some nasty things  can come off.   The problem seems to largely be overblown by EHS people, who forget that candles also release ultrafine particles in large quantities.   

ABS is generally considered non-reactive, and given the number of legos which children consume without serious effects (aside from choking), I'm inclined to think that it's not too toxic when consumed at room temperature.  The fumes from ABS should probably be avoided.  I don't think this requires a scientific study - you can smell them and know that they're not good for you.

PLA, the other big 3D printing material, appears to be pretty benign.  As Ferdinand notes, it is likely to be consumed by organisms without issue as it is basically a polymerized corn starch.  The fumes emitted when printing smell sometimes sweet, and while you probably should be breathing fumes of any kind, something pretty similar happens on your stovetop when you breathe in something that's cooking (or possibly burning) on the bottom of the pan.

These are the big two thermoplastics being used in the most popular 3D printer designs, though Polycarbonate and a few other types of material are gaining interest.   Among other systems, materials are not as friendly.  Most powder bed systems are if nothing else an inhalation hazard - the fine flour you fill the printer with is generally not good in your lungs, eyes, and may not be something you want on your skin.   Metal, ceramic, plastic, they're all not something you want to breathe.  Toxicity of the powder depends on the material at hand of course.

Then there are the photopolymerizing systems (Like the Formlabs FormOne or 3D Systems preliminary product line) -  I've been told that the goop which is selectively hardened COULD be made nontoxic for 5-10 times the cost of the current material.  The current photopolymer is expensive enough that most people are unwilling to go that route.  What we are using, in effect, is a similar mix to what the electronics industry uses in their chip fabs.  In that context, they are fairly careful to avoid contact with the material.  Sometimes I wonder if there will be a cancer cluster around photopolymer printer operators in the next 10 years.

If I haven't answered your question, let me know and I can go on...

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1352231013005086

I suspect there may be more information about injection molding these same materials.  They go through a similar transformation except most of the heating is generated by shear in inj. molding.  I can say that I've never seen any special venting on injection molding machines for common materials like ABS.  I've never seen PLA injection molded, though.

I would like to show a new perspective on the issue raised. I am currently researching a topic related to occupational exposure to 3D printing (harmful dusts, chemicals, etc.) from the point of view of its classification as a new and emerging risk.

In summary, my results indicate that such a risk is new because in recent years new technologies are constantly emerging that cause exposure to chemicals (in general). Additionally, the risk is emerging because the number of these identified sources of risk (new technologies) increase constantly, as with the likelihood of exposure (number of exposed workers and exposure times).

Thus, for more information about my perspective, I recommend the following reports:

Green jobs and occupational safety and health: Foresight on new and emerging risks associated with new technologies by 2020:

https://osha.europa.eu/en/tools-and-publications/publications/reports/green-jobs-foresight-new-emerging-risks-technologies

https://osha.europa.eu/en/tools-and-publications/publications/reports/summary-green-jobs-and-occupational-safety-and-health-foresight-on-new-and-emerging-risks-associated-with-new-technologies-by-2020

Regards 

To give you a more precise answer please define toxicity in your specific application. There is a vast difference evaluating the toxicity of a material i.e. for industrial usage contrary to clinical purposes.

If you want to use both materials for implants, i´d strongly disadvise it. The same with longterm skin contact. I know that "lego" was mentioned. But there are differences between purity grades of ABS.

PLA was described as modified corn starch - this tells nothing about its toxicity at all. It  may be toxic after cells (and mostly) water degrade the material, it becomes an acid (Poly-Lactide-Acid). The question remains how fast it degrades and how fast the by-products are reduced by the organism.

I absolutely agree with the powder bed systems as well as the photopolymer systems.

Again, it is of uttermost importance if your focus is the usage of the technology or the usage of its products (and in which context).

I am very grateful for all the answers and guidance.

I'm interested in 3D printing in general toxicity, but above all how it affects the air quality during the printing. Today, we can buy a ABS material for 3d Printing in the extreme differences in quality and price.

I agree to what Mark said about injection molding in companies!

I operate a Youth Tool Shop. We bought an Ultimaker 2 System. Due to our responsibility against the health of our Kids we organised measurements of the emissions of ABS, PC and PA near the apparatus and in the room. The amounts of emissions in both cases are neglectable. so we use the 3 D printing without any excausting equipment.

Dear Peter,

I would like to know who was your supplier. Today, ABS or PLA is produced in many companies in the world. I suspected that low-cost ABS or PLA can be toxic for air. There is The second issue is: what kind of detector you are used? I used a few detectors (based on tin (IV) oxide SnO2), but the amounts of emissions was neglectable in my cases.

Best Regards

i will answer asap

Hi

I use ABS from 3d2print.net mostly the more expensive one and for some Month only one without color (natur)

and even with printing there is no bad smell or so on (there was with other ABS suppliers Material!)

hope that could help you a bit

very interesting topic... we are also working in particle emissions... soon will publish a paper on this

Take a look at:

Ultrafine particle emissions from desktop 3D printers

Brent Stephens a,*, Parham Azimi a, Zeineb El Orch a,b, Tiffanie Ramos a