When I came into my office this morning, I found that my boss moved his resin printer into my office and the setup reeks of solvent (it smells like a hundred uncapped expos). Are these fumes fine? Or am I gonna end up with half a melted brain by the end of the week?
Those fumes are toxic, you can unironically call OSHA due to unsafe working conditions
It’s a huge health issue, resin is toxic as fuck until it cures
Quick update: talked to my boss and he’ll be moving it “soon”. I think I’ll just wfh for the rest of the day.
Update 2: my boss apologized and moved the printer and resins out. 😊 I popped by after work tonight and it still smells but it’s not bad now.
WFH until the printer is moved. Even if the fumes weren’t toxic (they are) you shouldn’t be expected to work in an environment like that
If there was a significant amount of resin inside the printer (which I have to assume since you report strong smell), your boss is either a negligent asshole or somebody irresponsibly ignorant.
And if the printer was working and actively printing something inside an enclosed unventilated environment, then your boss can’t be trusted with crayons or scissors.
Good call on working from home. Insist on doing that until that goddam thing is out of your office. “Soon” is WAY too vague.
Thanks for the update!
You can edit that into your post, if you’d like.
Pretty much every resin printer manufacturer recommends ventilation. Imo it’s totally unreasonable to put that in someone’s office and I would remove it.
A quick google search brought this up…
Basically the fumes effects will differ depending on the particular resin being used, but there are no specific studies on long-term effects yet. The general recommendation is to limit your exposure as much as possible with most hobbyists only using them in well-ventilated rooms or even having a direct exhaust port in the room. If it was me, I would move into the boss’s office and refuse to work at your desk until they address the safety concerns sufficiently. Yeah that’s probably overkill, but if your boss isn’t willing to expose themself to the likely health hazards then why should you?
I definitely don’t think it’s overkill.
If I’m not actively venting my resin printer, it will irritate my lungs instantly once i enter the room. Those fumes don’t fuck around, and at least from what I’ve heard, the effects will actually get worse the more you’re exposed over time.
From my very limited knowledge in 3D printing and the types of solvents used, most contain things like acrolein and acetone, both of which are known toxins. So yes, this is a health risk without proper ventilation and I’m guessing your office doesn’t have that. I’d bring this up immediately with your boss and if you have the original containers the solvents came in, check for ingredients and potential health hazards.
Acetone is not considered to be a carcinogen or even promoter of existing cancers. To my knowledge, no reputable source claims otherwise.
Right, but there are plenty of other fumes from resin printers which might be harmful. Without knowing which resin, and reading the SDS for it we can only speculate on what might be there.
I corrected it to toxins, as acetone can still be harmful. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
We’d see a lot of finger cancers if it was. Acetone being the primary solvent in nail polish remover
Cancer’s not the only problem toxins can cause…
Prob a good reason he didn’t want it in his own office. Maybe mention it to him if you’re comfortable, if not you could email people asking for an air purifier and when asked why explain the printer concern. Health issue, I am not sure but comfort issue absolutely.
It’s definitely a health issue.
Update:
https://www.voxelmatters.com/researchers-warn-against-health-effects-of-desktop-3d-printing/amp/
There’s a datasheet available for your resin, as there is for any volatile product. Print that for your boss and show him the health risks, mostly cancer that he’s opening himself up to liability for.
Not to mention that they should have a MSDS sheet for any solvents/chemicals at work anyway.
That’s fucking insane, that’s like someone putting 50 lit cigarettes in your office, what the fuck
u mind if I pipe my car exhaust to your office for a while, it’s making mine smell bad
Is 3d printing something your business does? Or is this just a toy of his?
It’s something our business does on occasion, as well as a hobby of his.
Sounds like it needs a dedicated, ventilated area before OSHA fucks his ass up
I have no words. I feel like there needs to be better presented safety information on these printers and especially on the materials that we use with them. Some of the datasheets are sparse and it shouldn’t be a pain to find the damn safety sheets. Speaking of safety sheets, your boss is required to have ones for the printer/resins/etc present at your workplace within your main Safety Data Sheet book.
