What you should know about printing industry solvents

If you have worked with solvents in the printing industry, there are a few things you should know.

I've been reading about people who have worked in the industry for many years and develop cancer later in life.  They wonder about the ink and solvents they have used and wonder if they are the reason for their illnesses.  

I have written before about diseases from the offset printing industry before, but I want to write about what you should know about these solvents and what a couple of recent studies have found.

Some of the most carcinogenic chemicals used in the printing industry are Benzene and Toluene.  I will talk about some of their effects here.

But first I want to share with you the results of a more recent study about the contents of some of the chemicals used in the press room.  Independent testing was done and it was found. It turned out that not all of these chemicals were declared on the safety data sheets.  

This is the report in it's entirety.

The study was done in 2016 and tells us that the printing industry has come a long way.  I have worked in the offset printing industry since 1989 and I'm sure I have been exposed to every chemical on that list.  But I am comforted to know that these are very trace amounts. I find myself trying to remember how much I have really protected myself over the years.

I want to delve into one of the chemicals.  I have read a number of cases on discussion boards of people with Leukemia that worked in the printing industry, and it prompted me to look further. Here is what I found:

Benzene

This is a chemical found almost everywhere, and the printing industry is no exception.

This chemical is in cleaning solvents, glue, foam, plastics, cosmetics and detergents.  So to be fair, the exposure is everywhere. It's practically unavoidable.

Benzene has no color and is very flammable. It has a high octane number and that is why it once consisted of 25% of our gasoline.  However since it has become known how carcinogenic it is, this has been reduced to 1%.  And thus the printing industry has reduced the use of this chemical significantly.  However as the chart above shows, it still exists in almost every solvent type used in every department of the industry. 

As stated by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, long term exposure to benzene (more than 1 year) effects the blood.  The exposure is through breathing and through the skin. It effects the bone marrow and long term exposure causes leukemia.

Sor an offset printer, here is where exposure will come.  This is a excellent study produced by ResearchGate.  But in my opinion, this is the most interesting part.

Release of benzene in offset printing while running.

So at least while the printing press is running, it seems like it is the one standing at the delivery pile that gets the exposure to benzene.  Exposure also comes if using solvents for cleaning without gloves.  Or while doing unit wash ups without a proper mask. 

So what is the take-away from this?

Wear protection.  If you employer doesn't provide it, insist on it.  Buy your own if you have to. Lately I have read so many stories of those who use these solvents and then develop emphysema or leukemia later in life.  This is a long term investment. Be safe!

If you have experienced any illness from working in the printing industry, please leave a comment below.  There are many other readers coming here that would like to know.