nano-Control is an international foundation whose purpose is to promote healthy indoor air - with a special focus on laser printers and copiers. There are about one billion of them worldwide. The patron of the foundation is the world-renowned Prof. Michael Braungart, director of the Hamburg Environmental Institute and globally known for his Cradle to Cradle concept. We spoke to the chairwoman of the board, Heike Krüger.
Ms Krüger, you are currently running a crowdfunding campaign on Betterplace.org - what goals are you pursuing with it?
We have planned a 5-part project series entitled "Good to know". We were already able to complete the first project "Hazardous metals in toner" via Betterplace.org and use the donated funds to examine a total of 71 toners for the metals they contain. With our current project "What are the dangers of laser printers and photocopiers?(directly to crowdfunding at Betterplace.org), we want to expand our public relations work, especially the orchestrated use of new media - and inform even more people about the dangers of emissions from laser printers and copiers.
The series will be continued shortly - for example, we want to use smaller studies to investigate the effects of indoor air on the immune system of people who have regular contact with laser printers.
We are closely associated with your commitment in the fight for healthy indoor air - since when has nano-Control existed?
The nano-Control Foundation was established in Erfurt more than eleven years ago, in 2008. Its purpose has always been to raise awareness of the risks posed by laser printers with the support of research initiatives and to eliminate these risks by informing those affected on the one hand and institutions from the fields of politics and occupational safety on the other.
In addition, people who were already affected should be supported by counselling and assistance, as there was no contact point for this group of people. Doctors, experts, lawyers and authorities are of little help - until today, by the way. At that time, the ITG, the interest group of toner-affected people in the Federal Association of Citizens' Initiatives for Environmental Protection (Bundesverband Bürgerinitiativen Umweltschutz e.V.), had already taken in 1,800 affected people. Today there are almost 4,000.
Laser printers and copiers often emit a dangerous mix of particulatess, nanoparticles and pollutants unfiltered. What are the specific dangers lurking?
The 2013 human pilot study by Prof. Mersch-Sundermann from the IUK Freiburg examined 28,000 gene action mechanisms and biological effects. Conclusion of the study: Permanent inflammation triggered by indoor air pollution such as emissions from laser printers can lead to cancer.
In 2017, Harvard University published a meta-study on the topic, in which 54 global studies were examined. The result was the same: There is convincing, scientific evidence regarding the biological activity of the so-called toner-based printing equipment. It leads to cellular oxidative stress, inflammation of the respiratory tract, cell damage and moderate epigenetic changes. In short, the carcinogenic [carcinogenic, editor's note] and mutagenic [mutagenic, editor's note] potential clearly poses a health risk.
What is the size of the particulates particles that laser printers disperse indoors?
These are both fine and ultra-fine particles. Contained metals are nanoparticles that are bound in the toner but can dissolve during the printing process at approx. 200 degrees and thus enter the room air. Within the scope of the toner study conducted by the University of Giessen on behalf of the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, in which measurements were carried out in 63 rooms, a significant increase in the concentrations of fine and ultra-fine particles with a diameter between 0.01 μm and 1 μm was found on average.
In almost two thirds of the office spaces examined, the study also determined a concentration peak at the beginning of the standard pressure process. This initial burst partially led to a multiplication of the particle concentrations in the office air.
Ultimately, your foundation not only enlightens, but you and your colleagues also do your own research - what insights have you gained from this?
In 2008, for example, toner particles were detected in the lung cells of a service technician who died of cancer. In March 2009, further studies were presented that showed that laser printers also emit metallic particles - in addition to volatile organic compounds (VOCs), also polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
And with the already mentioned human pilot study at the IUK Freiburg, plastic nanoparticles were also detected in the emissions for the first time. The laser printers polluted the room air with an average of 15,379 particles with a size of 10 to 1,000 nm per cm³. The peak was 51,670 particles per cm³. Theoretically, the test persons breathed in 69 (!) billion particles from laser printers during the three days (3 hours each).
How would the industry have to change the equipment to make it less dangerous?
You should definitely install filters. The first manufacturer, Konica Minolta, has now decided to do this. This means that the devices can no longer emit the emissions in full. From our point of view, this is an approach, but not a 100 per cent protection, because the printing technology is based on the use of hazardous substances, the heating of these substances to 200 degrees and the therefore necessary ventilation of the devices. The air exchange is uncontrollable as long as the units are not operated in an enclosed environment that can be exhausted.
Our proposal to reduce emissions into the air we breathe is to make it mandatory to install the units in separate, room air controlled rooms. This includes filtering the exhaust and circulating air using the latest filter technology (clean room technology). The necessity is particularly urgent in sensitive rooms such as kindergartens, schools, hospitals, in surgeries or old people's homes.
Do we need new political guidelines, such as limit values for ultra-particulates in indoor air?
We handed over a 10-point plan to the Federal Ministry for the Environment in 2017. In addition to separating the devices, we demanded, among other things, warning labels and specific limit values. Specifically:the creation of limit values for ultra-fine particles and nanoparticles indoors. Based on the exposure-risk relationship for asbestos, we proposed a provisional limit value of 10,000 particles per side of pressure for assessment.
Is there any prospect of such a limit coming?
It is our greatest wish to achieve limit values indoors.The values of up to 1,000 µg/m3 indoors measured by the Federal Environment Agency in 2006 are completely unacceptable if we endure them in the office for eight hours a day for years and decades.
Whether we achieve this protection remains to be seen. As in the emissions scandal, mistakes were made by industry and authorities in the past. In the interior, contaminated sites such as substances containing asbestos or even the toxic substances from the history of wood preservation are lying dormant. Many people are no longer aware of this.
We think it is time that we dare to take the step towards new limits, because one of our greatest treasures are the people who have brought our state this far and will successfully lead it into the future. This only works in a healthy, productive and motivated way. Substances that are hazardous to health hinder this and should be removed from indoor spaces immediately.
We wish you the greatest possible success in this, Ms Krüger. We thank you very much for the information.
(Pictures: nano-Control)
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