<p>Are there any safety risks inherent to PLA plastics used for 3D printing?</p>
<p>The material safety data sheet of some PLA plastics indicates low risks at a toxicological level, but I'd like to make sure some other factor isn't overlooked.
(<a href="https://printparts.com/datasheets/PLA-MSDS.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">1</a>, <a href="https://www.nhh.com.hk/en/3dprinting/document/pla_classic/MSDS_PLA_Classic.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">2</a>, <a href="http://wwwassets.e-ci.com/PDF/SDS/CI-D-07-PLA-3D-Printing-Filament.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">3</a>)</p>
<blockquote>
<hr>  
SECTION 11:  TOXICOLOGICAL INFORMATION   
<hr>  
PRINCIPLE ROUTES OF EXPOSURE: Eye contact, Skin contact, Inhalation, Ingestion.  
ACUTE TOXICITY: None noted during use.  
<p>LOCAL EFFECTS: Product dust may be irritating to eyes, skin and
respiratory system. Particles, like other inert materials, are
mechanically irritating to eyes. Ingestion may cause gastrointestinal
irritation, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.</p>
<p>SPECIFIC EFFECTS: May cause skin irritation and/or dermatitis.
Ingestion may cause gastrointestinal irritation, nausea, vomiting and
diarrhea. Inhalation of dust may cause shortness of breath, tightness
of the chest, a sore throat and cough. Burning produces irritant
fumes.</p>
<p>CHRNOIC TOXICITY: None noted during use.</p>
<p>REPRODUCTIVE TOXICITY: No data is available on the product itself.<br />
CARCINOGENIC EFFECTS: None of the components of this product are
listed as carcinogens by IARC, NTP, or OSHA.</p>
</blockquote>

[{'answer_id': 19690, 'author': 'user10489', 'author_id': 28397, 'author_profile': 'https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/users/28397', 'pm_score': 3, 'selected': True, 'text': '<p>Extrusion of PLA through a nozzle can cause microparticles to be generated (referenced as &quot;dust&quot; in your document) which can be temporarily airborne.  If ingested through breathing for an extended period of time, this can cause respiratory distress.  Your document claims &quot;no acute toxicity&quot; from this.</p>\n<p>My personal experience is that:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>Different plastics at different temperatures emit a variable amount of this dust.</li>\n<li>A cloth mask effectively blocks it.</li>\n<li>The dust settles very quickly, in both time and distance.</li>\n<li>The effects (for me at least) are irritation only (well described in your document), and disappear completely in a time proportional to the length of exposure, but not more than a day or so.</li>\n<li>PLA is not near as bad as other plastics like ABS.  But either of these burns is much worse.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>The paper <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214785320391902" rel="nofollow noreferrer">&quot;Review on particle emissions during fused deposition modeling of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene and polylactic acid polymers&quot;</a> goes into this in greater detail.<br />\nThere are probably others.</p>\n'}, {'answer_id': 19696, 'author': 'fifteenforty', 'author_id': 34851, 'author_profile': 'https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/users/34851', 'pm_score': 1, 'selected': False, 'text': '<p>If you are concerned about inhalation (and I think you should be), you should use a hierarchy of controls to mitigate the risk.</p>\n<p>NIOSH (part of the CDC) have a <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2020-115/default.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">good document outlining how to mitigate the risks of 3D printing particulate emissions.</a></p>\n<p>Note that the smell you experience may be VOCs, not particles. Both are important to block. To do so, use a respirator with both particulate and organic vapour filters, in addition to an air purification/local exhaust ventilation system. The ‘carbon filters’ often seen in 3D printers do almost nothing for particulates, only nuisance levels of vapours.</p>\n'}]
['https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/19689', 'https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com', 'https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/users/22067/']