Comments About the Human Health Risks Related to Additive Manufacturing

New and Emerging Hazards for Health and Safety within Digitalized Manufacturing Systems

“…Firstly, from a malfunctioning of the devices, which may cause burns [35,[37][38][39][40][41], secondly, from electrostatic phenomena resulting from dusts and from the accumulation of electrostatic charges on plastics, which may cause uncontrolled energy releases, fires, or explosions [35,38], finally, from damaged wires that may function as conductors [35,37,38], or from unexpected events due to electromagnetic interferences between different equipment, which may cause a malfunctioning [1]. Additional types of hazards found in the literature include thermal hazards, which may cause burns for workers operating close to overheating devices [35,[37][38][39]42]. Moreover, the use of vacuum pumps and air compressors as machine power suppliers may cause hearing damage [37], while exposure to ionizing radiation and laser sources may cause minor injuries and genetic mutations [35,37,43].…”

“…Furthermore, operators employing such technologies are exposed to hazardous chemicals, i.e., ultra-fine powders, monomers, organic compounds, or inert gases. This exposure may cause eye damage [29,35,[37][38][39][40]42], eye fatigue [1,4,6], skin damage, skin sensitization, contact dermatitis [37,[39][40][41], nasal mucosa injuries [35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43], central nervous system damage [1,[4][5][6], reproductive system damage [43], asthma, allergic rhinitis or other consequences of respiratory and lung damages [35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44], metal poisoning [1,3,[5][6][7][8], loss of coordination, headache and nausea [38], cardiovascular diseases [1,3,…”

“…The exposition to electromagnetic, ionizing, and non-ionizing radiations may cause superficial damages and genetic mutations [95], while the contact between body parts and plastic or metallic materials may provoke rushes or allergic reactions [96]. Furthermore, the inadequate dimension, weight, and position of the devices can generate ergonomic hazards, which may lead to discomfort for the operators [10,42], long term damages, i.e., to the dominant brachial biceps, general muscle fatigue, mainly in the should area [69], as well as to damages caused by muscular destabilization, i.e., in the area of the middle thoracic spine and the shoulder blade [69]. Moreover, organizational hazards are connected to the prolonged use of the devices, with consequent muscle fatigue [10,43], postural damages, muscle destabilization [69], and technostress [10,42].…”

“…Furthermore, the inadequate dimension, weight, and position of the devices can generate ergonomic hazards, which may lead to discomfort for the operators [10,42], long term damages, i.e., to the dominant brachial biceps, general muscle fatigue, mainly in the should area [69], as well as to damages caused by muscular destabilization, i.e., in the area of the middle thoracic spine and the shoulder blade [69]. Moreover, organizational hazards are connected to the prolonged use of the devices, with consequent muscle fatigue [10,43], postural damages, muscle destabilization [69], and technostress [10,42]. In addition, the fact that safety condition monitoring is performed mainly by machines may expose workers to greater risks, reducing the overall surveillance level [10] and, sometimes, even private medical checks [97].…”

Characterization of Emissions in Fab Labs: An Additive Manufacturing Environment Issue

“…Publications on related topics usually cover 3D plastic printers rather than metal AM technologies, and yet there are particular dangers connected with the use of powder bed-based technologies, such as selective laser melting (SLM) and electron beam melting (EBM). The powder particle size used ranges between 50 and 100 µm for EBM and 15 to 45 µm for SLM, incurring multiple occupational health risks, such as respiratory problems and explosions for smallsized particles [20]. Today, all Fab Labs are equipped with laser cutters that generate inhalable small-size particulates, VOCs, and other gases including formaldehyde, which is recognized as toxic when inhaled [21].…”