<p>The university of Austin published a study saying that 3D printers emit toxic chemical vapors into the air when printing.  They specifically point out that PLA vapors are shown as possible links to cancer.</p>

<p><a href="http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.est.5b04983" rel="nofollow">http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.est.5b04983</a></p>

<p>Do you ventillate your printer so you don't breathe the vapors?  I'd be interested to hear what others in the community are doing.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-29T18:54:04.633Z
I think you are misquoting the study here. "We are not aware of any relevant information regarding the inhalation toxicity of lactide, the primary individual VOC emitted from PLA filaments."
Tom van der Zanden
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-29T18:55:14.333Z
I am voting to close this question as off-topic, as it is not a *question* about the tools and applications of 3D printing. Rather, it is a *poll* regarding whether people ventilate their printers.
Tom van der Zanden
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-02-06T00:21:38.353Z
A molecular biologist would argue that literally everything is "linked" to cancer, even breathing (oxidation causes free radicals which can form chemical bonds with DNA molecules thereby modifying and damaging them). So yeah, I'd suggest to not assume something is dangerous until sufficiently proven otherwise, otherwise you'll become paanoid.
Leo Ervin
<pla><safety>
Do you provide ventillation for your 3D printer?
Baronz
# Do you provide ventillation for your 3D printer?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-01-29)

The university of Austin published a study saying that 3D printers emit toxic chemical vapors into the air when printing. They specifically point out that PLA vapors are shown as possible links to cancer.

<http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.est.5b04983>

Do you ventillate your printer so you don't breathe the vapors? I'd be interested to hear what others in the community are doing.

**Tags:** pla, safety

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I think you are misquoting the study here. "We are not aware of any relevant information regarding the inhalation toxicity of lactide, the primary individual VOC emitted from PLA filaments."  
> **username_1**: I am voting to close this question as off-topic, as it is not a *question* about the tools and applications of 3D printing. Rather, it is a *poll* regarding whether people ventilate their printers.  
> **username_2**: A molecular biologist would argue that literally everything is "linked" to cancer, even breathing (oxidation causes free radicals which can form chemical bonds with DNA molecules thereby modifying and damaging them). So yeah, I'd suggest to not assume something is dangerous until sufficiently proven otherwise, otherwise you'll become paanoid.  

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