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i Potential Air Contaminants and Noise Levels Generated by the

1. PEL Permissible exposure limit a legal limit established for exposure of an employee to a substance OSHA 2007 Respirable Dust Dust that is capable of reaching and penetrating the gas exchange region of the human lungs Aerias 2006 Short Run An entire press operation cycle that requires a relatively short time for its completion Kadam 2004 In this study it was understood as 30 minutes or less TLV Threshold limit value it represents conditions under which it is believed that nearly all workers may be repeatedly exposed day after day without adverse health effects ACGIH 2007 Ultrafine Particulates Particulates smaller than 2 5 micrometers in diameter U S Environmental Protection Agency 2007 Volatile Organic Compound VOC Any organic compound that participates in atmospheric photochemical reactions except those specifically excluded U S Environmental Protection Agency 2007 Chapter 2 Applicable Mathematical Models Of the five environmental aspects under scrutiny as they are treated in this study only noise exposure analysis requires understanding of specialized mathematical models When calculating the combined noise detected by more than one dosimeter the methods used by industrial hygienists are not intuitive therefore they are explained in this section The human sense of hearing responds to sound stimuli in a logarithmic manner J Schneider perso
2. gt u 70 v 2 z 65 60 T 7 r r r r z 13 12 13 40 14 09 14 38 15 07 15 36 16 04 16 33 17 02 Time of Day hh mm Figure 28 Noise Levels Detected North of the Press The north dosimeter also shows a dip in noise levels just before the long run and before the short run which correspond to machine idle cycles This particular dosimeter was more tightly squeezed between the NexPress and the back wall and one would have expected sound waves to bounce back from the wall and elevate noise levels above those picked up by the other dosimeters but that was not the case This dosimeter detected in average a noise level of 68 58 dB 79 Figure 29 shows the noise levels West of the NexPress doseBadge WEST of the Nexpress 2500 9 T OSHA PEL EIGHT HOUR TWA 5 i i i ao LL sme LONG RUN B smo EE wn Of Cy l l H 5 i 3 ES i lt 70 i 7 i a i 3 i y W AA ae Auh f l SA Z 65 i J V J i Mat i Tw rh 60 13 12 13 40 14 09 14 38 15 07 15 36 16 04 16 33 17 02 Time of Day hh mm Figure 29 Noise Levels Detected West of the Press Even though this dosimeter was located west at the same distance from the NexPress as the east dosimeter the former picked up all around lower noise levels than the latter This could be due to the fact that the west dosimeter was not sandwiched between a wall and the press as was the east dosi
3. siilatiadal I ST asta c daa baseball Gls bea Mba da weds asta ettiweaad sano Oeaamwelaites 49 Figure 12 The CK110 doseBadge Noise Dosimeters and the Reader Unit 00 52 Figure 13 CO Readings During the Preliminary A and Experiment B Runas 55 Figure 14 Relative Humidity During the Preliminary A and Experiment B Runs 58 1X Figure 15 Temperature During Preliminary A and Experiment B Runs 60 Figure 16 Respirable Dust Concentrations Detected During the Preliminary A and Experiment By RUNS s cass crssastegscnaet scr taste Garters a Wane oak stekdaaa eh gah A E AA 62 Figure 17 Ultrafine Particulates During the Preliminary A and Experiment B Runs 65 Figure 18 Laboratory Analysis Reports for Milligrams of Total Dust Collected During the Preliminary A and Experiment B Runs chiang ieee toes 67 Figure 19 Calculation of the Concentration of Total Dust During the Preliminary A and Exp rment B RUNS naona a e a hey mi nein E IT un aeaes tenuis eeaeaee 68 Figure 20 VOC Emissions During the Preliminary A and Experiment B Runs 69 Figure 21 Ozone Levels Recorded During the Preliminary A and Experiment B Runs Figure 22 Sketch of Kodak s Manitou Demo RO0OM sssessssessssersseersseesssrrssresssresseees 73 Figure 23 Not to scale Sketch of the Distribution of the Stationary Noise Dosimeters 74 Figure 24 Noise Levels Detected by All Five Dosimeters Aro
4. B 13 12 00 13 40 48 14 09 36 14 38 24 15 07 12 15 36 00 16 04 48 16 33 36 17 02 24 17 31 12 Time of Day hh mm ss Figure 15 Temperature During Preliminary A and Experiment B Runs 60 The temperature recorded in all instances was in accordance with OSHA it never went below 68 F or above 76 F However it exceeded the ASHRAE maximum of 74 F during most of the experiment run see Figure 15B There was a 4 F difference between the temperature at the operator station of the small room and that of the Demo room and it was assigned to the ventilation systems of these rooms which were located at different buildings of the Kodak Manitou facility If the operator manifests discomfort with the slightly elevated temperature in the Demo room the temperature can be decreased by the air conditioning system 61 Respirable Dust Ultrafine Particulates and Total Dust Figure 16 shows respirable dust concentrations detected by the DustTrak Se Sing ne OSA PEL DustTrak Preliminary Run 3 mg m ACGIH RECOMMENDATION 0 06 0 05 E PRESS SHORT PRESS LONG RUN a IS IDLE RUN IS IDLE i 0 04 0 03 a k 0 02 0 01 0 13 12 00 13 40 48 14 09 36 14 38 24 15 07 12 15 36 00 16 04 48 16 33 36 17 02 24 Time of Day hh mm ss 3 5 mg m OSHA PEL DustTrak Experiment Run 3 mg m ACGIH RECOMMENDATION 0 06 Fa r a O o B gt N 2 o 2 Concentration
5. Experiment Run 30000 4 25000 B 20000 15000 PRESS H i PRESS i SHORT IS IDLE LONG RUN H IS IDLE RUN 10000 5000 Number of Ultrafine Particulates per Cubic Centimeter o 4 r r r 13 12 00 13 40 48 14 09 36 14 38 24 15 07 12 15 36 00 16 04 48 16 33 36 17 02 24 Time of Day hh mm ss Figure 17 Ultrafine Particulates During the Preliminary A and Experiment B Runs 65 The spikes at the start of Figure 17A occurred at the same time the NexPress 2500 was turned on performed a self check and underwent a calibration cycle Ultrafine particulates may be sitting on top inside of and around the press as the press is turned on its fans and vibration may displace the ultrafines The sharp rise in ultrafine particulate levels at the end of Figure 17B is tied to the operation of the nearby Kodak Digimaster 9110 Digital Production System the ultrafine count rose precisely when the Digimaster started running A second reason for this sharp rise at the end of Figure 17B is that during the long run the printed sheets were discharged to the main delivery unit located inside the machine behind a closed door During the short run in contrast the operator had them discharged to the proof tray where they were exposed to the room atmosphere see the top left of Figure 3 This allowed more ultrafines to reach the P Trak during the short run Finally gravimetric determ
6. Ozone Emissions Figure 21 shows ozone levels detected by the Ozone Analyzer Ozone Detector Preliminary Run 100 ppb MAXIMUM ALLOWED BY OSHA t 9 N PRESS SHORT PRESS LONG RUN ISIDLE RUN IS IDLE a uw a Ozone Concentration in Parts per Billion 13 12 13 40 14 09 14 38 15 07 15 36 16 04 16 33 17 02 Time of Day hh mm Ozone Detector Experiment Run 100 ppb MAXIMUM ALLOWED BY OSHA i 9 N o w PRESS PRESS SHORT Ozone Concentration in Parts per Billion 4 jee IS IDLE poe Bane SOM fee IS IDLE ae RUN l B 2t j i j 13 12 13 40 14 09 14 38 15 07 15 36 16 04 16 33 17 02 Time of Day hh mm Figure 21 Ozone Levels Recorded During the Preliminary A and Experiment B Runs 71 As seen in Figure 21 ozone experiment run levels Figure 21B double those of the preliminary run Figure 21A This can be attributed to the fact that during the experiment run there were other digital printing machines running in the Demo room such as the aforementioned Digimaster Ozone may be formed from oxygen by electrical discharges and by action of high energy electromagnetic radiation This is especially true in devices that use high voltages such as the paper cutter the glosser the Digimaster and also the NexPress The relative position of these machines can be seen in Figure
7. directly related to digital printing technologies are hard to find 14 The Aerias Air Quality Sciences Indoor Air Quality Resource Center website 2006 says that digital printing devices have the potential to emit dust volatile organic compounds and ozone These three emissions come from the following parts and processes the inks and toners paper debris coatings on transparencies glue on adhesive labels the mechanical print process itself plastic materials circuit boards and residual cleaning chemicals Dust is a general term for a type of air pollution that consists of various types of particulates suspended in the air that we breathe These particulates may come from paper debris toners and developers they are small enough to be inhaled and have a variety of sizes shapes and levels of toxicity Zirilli 2006 said that the accumulation of dust creates a dependability problem in digital printing devices Toner particulates often regarded as dust have to be collected transported and separated from the main airstream and this air must be filtered and reconditioned before being returned to the printer or the operator environment Breathing these particulates can result in the development of respiratory diseases such as asthma bronchitis pneumonia and emphysema Aerias 2006 Wolkoff 1993 and Skoner 1990 found that particulates emitted from laser printers have been associated with headaches mucous membrane irritation an
8. 22 The apparent cycles in Figure 21A and B are within the resolution of the photometric analyzer which is 0 001 ppm or ppb For example if the amount of ozone in the air is exactly 3 5 ppb the readings from the instrument will oscillate between 3 and 4 ppb as they do in Figure 21A In fact the ozone concentration did not rise or fall but because the instrument s resolution is 1 ppb and not 0 5 ppb or less the instrument will not be able to detect that constant 3 5 ppb level but will oscillate above and below it The PEL for ozone in the workplace is 100 ppb according to Table Z 1 of the OSHA Standard 29CFR1910 1000 which is identical to the ACGIH TLV for light work The highest ozone concentration detected during the runs was 8 ppb less than a tenth of the OSHA PEL Background ozone levels reached on average 4 ppb and when the NexPress was running the ozone level never rose beyond 8 ppb Therefore the worst case scenario 1 e if we ignore all the other ozone emitting devices in the Demo room was that the NexPress at its peak of ozone generation emitted that 4 ppb difference The instrument probe was inserted in the machine after the experiment run was complete and 72 a concentration of 39 ppb was detected Assuming that the 4 ppb of ozone somehow eluded the factory installed NexPress 2500 filters these filters were 89 35 39 ppb efficient and the ozone that eluded them was still 4 of the PEL Figure 22 is a not t
9. Analyzer User Manual California USA Ferris F 1995 Greening your bottom line American Printer 2 5 1 38 41 Gullison K New Blue Angel Standard RAL 122 Tightens Emissions of Ozone From Office Equipment With Print Functions Market Wire August 23 2006 1 pp Online Available http www marketwire com mw release_printer_ friendly release_id 156714 amp category Accessed September 14 2006 Hess Kosa K 2002 Indoor Air Quality Sampling Methodologies CRC Press LLC Florida USA Jones G 2005 EPA amp OSHA American Printer 22 1 18 21 Jones G 2005 Determining VOC HAP emissions from sheetfed offset lithographic printing operations Printer s National Environmental Assistance Center Kadam S 2004 Comparative study of environmental health and safety aspects and impacts associated with lithographic and digital printing processes RIT Printing Industry Center Rochester New York 93 Kodak Graphic Communications Group Kodak NexPress 2500 Data Sheet and Brochure Eastman Kodak Company Website Available Online http graphics kodak com US product printers_presses production_ color KODAK 20NEXPRESS 202500 20Digital 20Production 20Color 20Press default Accessed June 2006 through March 2007 Kipphan H 2001 Handbook of print media Springber Verlag Heidelberg Germany Leung M K et al 2005 Occupational exposure to volatile organic compounds and mitigation by push pull local exhaus
10. OSHA PEL of 15 mg m according to Table Z 1 of Standard 29CFR1910 1000 as well as below the ACGIH recommended maximum of 10 mg m ACGIH 2000 68 Volatile Organic Compounds Figure 20 shows volatile organic compound levels detected by the TVA 1000 TVA FID Preliminary Run 60 i 50 k v a g 40 t H amp PRESS SHORT PRESS E IS IDLE RUN ISIDLE LONG RUN g H i o 30 gt re o S p 5 20 5 e g i a 10 i s i i H pS 0 r r T 14 24 00 14 52 48 15 21 36 15 50 24 16 19 12 16 48 00 17 16 48 17 45 36 18 14 24 18 43 12 Time of Day hh mm ss TVA FID Experiment Run 60 4 Fii B LY ra v a n 40 ic a amp 30 9 H e PRESS PRESS H SHORT z ISIDLE LONG RUN H IS IDLE RUN 2 i i H 5 20 5 e g v 5 O 10 i i ARs yO Soe oe OOo OSA lat statins eat acu an Cae tate Sane ee eet ates sapa a gees eta eine syd nett ee Sed o i a i 14 24 00 14 52 48 15 21 36 15 50 24 16 19 12 16 48 00 17 16 48 17 45 36 18 14 24 18 43 12 Time of Day hh mm ss Figure 20 VOC Emissions During the Preliminary A and Experiment B Runs 69 The spike in Figure 20A corresponds to the author s computer cleaning aerosol experiment as described in the respirable dust section and it was triggered by a hydrocarbon called tetrafluoroethane No significant levels of VOCs above bac
11. a a a DR tela eau a Oy seal OA ils xii Chapter 1 Introductionis irei e E E E T E a 1 Topice Statemeh tenie e EE AE E EEA EEA E E AE RE aeeinee 1 Sienificance ofthe TOpicyeisrar ra E E seated 2 Reasons for Interesten ceststescgaestessdasitaesginsesbsvebatabateceatbeai A EE A RRR E a Ee 2 Glossary of Frequently Used Terms s sccccescesseveeseeseeuteusestessevtiencuyeuventeyneute snes an t is i EE E E EEE EEEE EE 3 Chapter 2 Applicable Mathematical Models cccccccccessecceeeeeneeeeeeeneeeeeeeeneeeeeeeeneeeeeees 5 Chapter 3 Review Of Literature s ic5ccct es cseatehoavatcsa saver nnd eed a ieee E EEE TEES 10 The Ascent of Digital Printings soreer ae eee eee 10 The Printing Industry s Environmental Health and Safety Impacts 0 ce eeeeseeeeeeseseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees 11 Conventional Printing Technologies ccccceecessesesseseeseseeseseeseseeseeeesescesenseseeecseeeseeseseeseeeaeeeseeseeeeeeeens 11 Digital Printing TLEechnologies ss cesccasceuscsucaceseestceucs sess E A E aa ees eves oe as eo a 14 Introduction to Indoor Air Quality and Applicable Regulations in the U S ce ceceseeseseeseteeeeeeseeeeees 17 The Kadani Thesis sininen aiakanacenatanavanenaued E ERRE ERE AAE A AEE 20 The NexPress 2500 and its Environmental Footprint ssssssssessessessssssesessssstsesssestsesestesesesestsstsesesessesesesee 25 Chapter 4 TheRescarch Statement sccctsaicuscesecdesatecressemncdaiamionemacdinaseenubnwulsier 29 Chapter y Methodo
12. and Air Conditioning Engineers ASHRAE which in turn has often credited the World Health Organization WHO in its efforts During the 1990s the U S Department of Energy and the Department of Housing and Urban Development issued standards related to indoor air quality Hess Kosa 2002 The original OSHA exposure limits were derived from the 1968 ACGIH recommendations and only a handful of chemical pollutants have since been updated Hess Kosa 2002 Even when these chemicals have been properly identified the OSHA limits are seldom exceeded in office environments This is why most industrial hygienists consider OSHA limits outdated and prefer to use ACGIH guidelines J Heyer personal communication 2007 The full force of federal law nonetheless backs OSHA ACGIH is a professional society of scientists and engineers that review and recommend guidelines annually to industrial hygienists for use in the assessment of occupational workplace exposures Schneider 2007 Their guidelines however are generally limited to eight hour exposure durations for healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 65 In 1981 ASHRAE introduced a mechanical ventilation standard that is now referred to as Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality Standard Hess Kosa 2002 The purpose of this standard is to specify minimum ventilation rates and indoor air quality that will be acceptable to human occupants and are intended to avoid adverse health effects Th
13. and Occupational Aspects Studied by Kadam in 2004 anid by Leal tin 2007 icv entcuscsucnsviedasnsewede E e E E E ucts vedo sntwuse budge 23 Table 6 Comparison of Results of the Kadam Study and the Present Study 82 vill List of Figures Figure 1 The Sheetfed Offset Lithographic Process on the Heidelberg Speedmaster 74 Source Kippha ZO side hil aed veaug a ieee seth oho deal eng ne ena iee E 20 Figure 2 The Wet Ink Electrophotographic Process on the HP Indigo 3000 Source Printing Applications Laboratory Rochester Institute of Technology 2007 21 Figure 3 Cross section of the NexPress Source Kodak G C G 2007 cc cceeceetees 26 Figure 4 Schematic of the NexPress Imaging Module Source Ng 2003 cee 27 Figure 5 Screenshot of the Digital File GATF Sample tagged_baby pdf Source Kodaks 200 30 eg lee fd NRE Tie dd LV Re Es ede RO 34 Figure 6 The Q Trak Indoor Air Quality Monitor and Its Probe far right 35 Figure 7 The 8520 DustTrak Aerosol Monitor w c sesvsivanescemeravenavenuesareins meer sarees 38 Figure 8 The 8525 P Trak Ultrafine Particulate Counter ec cc eeeseeeseneeeeeneeeeeneeeeenees 41 Figure 9 ESCORT ELF Air Pump and Air Cassettes 2 0 0 0 ecceessceessseeeesneeeeeneeeeeneeeenees 44 Figure 10 The TVA 1000B Organic Vapor Analyzer and Its Probe above it 46 Figure 11 The Dasibi 1008 UV Photometric Ozone Analyzer and the Primary Standard
14. contained in the BID will be drawn to the more positive less negative area of the PIP minus 50 volts and repelled by the more negative areas minus 900 volts After the BID the PIP will come in contact with the Pre Transfer Erase PTE module a series of light emitting diode lights that flash on and erase any leftover electrical charge on the PIP The PIP will then come in contact with the Intermediate Transfer Member ITM drum which holds a heated blanket charged to a positive 500 volts At this juncture almost 100 of the ink is transferred to the ITM because this ink is designed to be attracted to positive charges The blanket also acts as a fuser because it is heated to 320 degrees Fahrenheit F Finally the paper passes through squeezing between the ITM drum and the impression cylinder this is where the ink reaches the paper After the ITM drum the PIP will come in contact with the cleaning station which pours cool imaging oil that scrubs any wet ink that may not have gotten transferred to the paper The imaging oil is the source of the VOCs that Kadam studied Paper debris and undefined aerosols in the printing room were the sources of respirable and total dusts that Kadam detected in this process The moving parts inside the HP Indigo 3000 were the source of the noise levels that Kadam recorded 22 Table 5 is a comparison of the environmental health and safety aspects studied by Kadam and by the author Table 5 Compa
15. exits the nip the net charge is eliminated with a discharge brush The image is then fixed to the media by means of a heated fuser which has a pneumatic pressure mechanism that allows it to fix images on different medias of varying weight and thickness After fusing the media is 27 separated from the fuser roller with an air knife This air stream cools the media before it passes through the cooler module The process is then complete and the media exits the press or is flipped for printing on its other side The NexPress manages its environmental impacts through the following systems a contamination control CC subassembly a waste management WM system and an environmental control system ECS The CC uses airflow to help remove waste dry toner and environmental contaminants from the press The WM uses both mechanical components and channeled airflow to control and to remove waste contamination from the press The purpose of the ECS is to provide the following conditions inside the press air at 70 F a relative humidity of 35 5 and non conditioned air with controlled and filtered flow 28 Chapter 4 The Research Statement This research project has reproduced a proven methodology for quantifying various environmental aspects of digital printing as reflected by the Kodak NexPress 2500 This study has proved or disproved the following hypotheses l The Material Safety Data Sheets MSDS of the fuser fluid dry
16. observed during the preliminary runs would repeat themselves during the experiment runs The outcome is discussed in the Results chapter of this document The Checklist Used During the Print Runs The following two paragraphs are transcripts of the checklists used before during and after the preliminary and the experiment run First the volume of the room where the print runs took place was measured by multiplying its length by its width by its height The instruments were connected to the wall outlets no batteries were used turned on and allowed to warm up and settle for 15 minutes When the instruments were ready background measurements were made and written down for all of them Digital pictures were taken of the position of the instruments around the NexPress and a sketch was made of the printer and the relative position of any and all the other machines in the room The serial numbers of the total dust filters and air pumps were written down as part of the sketch the same was done with the noise dosimeter codes Once the print runs started all events were logged together with their corresponding start and finish Ozone concentration levels had to be logged manually because the instrument does not save this data When the print runs were finished a digital copy of the file that was printed was retrieved and so were five printed sheets 32 The Digital Printing Device Two different Kodak NexPress 2500 digital production colo
17. ppm and a sample rate of one liter per minute The TVA 1000B is seen in Figure 10 This instrument was placed in the operator station in all print runs Figure 10 The TVA 1000B Organic Vapor Analyzer and Its Probe above it According to the instrument s Instruction Booklet 1996 the TVA 1000B takes the incoming sample air stream and passes it through a photo ionization detector PID This detector uses an ultraviolet UV light lamp to energize the incoming molecules This charged gas carries an electric current that can be measured by the device The gas then passes through the flame ionization detector FID which measures organic compounds by utilizing a flame produced by the combustion of hydrogen and 46 air When hydrocarbons in the sample are introduced to the detection zone ions are produced A collector electrode with a polarizing voltage also is located within the detector chamber and the ions produced by this reaction are attracted to it As the ions migrate toward the collector a current is produced that is directly proportional to the concentration of hydrocarbons introduced to the flame This current is then amplified and sent to a microprocessor and an analog readout device This study did not make use of the PID data only the FID data because the latter is more responsive to a wider range of volatile organics The calibration of the vapor analyzer sets the background level zero point of the electrical curr
18. real ozone emission levels of the NexPress are lower than 4 of OSHA PEL The difficulty lies in separating the ozone generated by the NexPress alone and the ozone generated by the other machines In any case the ozone filters are at least 89 efficient and the operator was not at risk from even moderate exposure to this gas The sound level survey conducted around the NexPress revealed that the front of the press tends to be noisier than the back The press has most of its access panels doors in the front therefore it was no surprise that most of the noise it generates inside bounces off the back and escapes the press through these panels in the front Overall this was a quiet machine whose operation was not hazardous as far as noise was concerned The 87 highest decibel levels detected even had they been sustained during eight hours did not exceed the time weighted average TWA OSHA permissible exposure limit In Chapter 2 of this document Applicable Mathematical Models the cumulative noise detected by five dosimeters was calculated The author used the five doseBadge averages obtained in the actual experiment run in that example reaching an overall average of 77 58 dB for the NexPress To put the 77 58 dB eight hour average noise exposure in perspective consider that operating a kitchen blender continuously at maximum speed during eight hours is considered hazardous because it meets the 90 dB eight hour OSHA PEL Operating a vacuum
19. the Calculation Method and extrapolating the average noise emitted by one NexPress 77 6 dB as calculated by this study it would take six presses installed in the Demo room to exceed the ACGIH limit and 17 presses to exceed the OSHA PEL for eight hour TWA noise exposure All these presses would have to be four feet away from the operator station which makes these scenarios unrealistic Agenda for Further Research The author puts forth the following ideas for further research along the lines of the present study Mass Balance Experiment Time and budget constraints prevented the author from conducting such an investigation on the NexPress It would be interesting to see if the NexPress measures up to its competitors on resource efficiency and waste generation levels 90 In Depth Ultrafine Particulates Survey Science is only beginning to understand the impact that ultrafine particulates have on human health The author thinks that a full survey involving numerous P Trak devices located strategically around the press is justified In order to attempt to determine exactly what makes up these ultrafine particulates this survey could be accompanied by chromatography Power Consumption Analysis This is important from cost optimization and environmental perspectives and it will also help determine just how differently the NexPress 2500 handles short and long runs In order to evaluate the energy requirements for short an
20. toners and developers of the NexPress 2500 do not reveal the presence of any recognizable VOCs as opposed to the MSDS of the HP Indigo 3000 imaging oil which reveals the presence of a VOC identified simply as petroleum hydrocarbon Chemical Abstracts Service number 90622 58 5 Thus the first hypothesis is Ho VOC emissions are higher in liquid ink digital printing and sheetfed offset lithography when they are compared to dry toner digital printing VOC emissions both in short and long runs This hypothesis is based on the fact that the NexPress 2500 is equipped with three sophisticated and independent contamination control environmental control and waste management systems whose purpose is to remove dry toner and environmental contaminants from the press 29 Thus the second hypothesis is H 2 Respirable dust level emissions are higher in liquid ink digital printing and sheetfed offset lithography when they are compared separately to dry toner digital printing respirable dust emissions both in short and long runs This study was started under the assumption that dry toner digital printing is inherently cleaner or more environmentally friendly than either wet ink digital printing or sheetfed offset lithography At the time this hypothesis was conceived the author was not aware of any evidence that pointed in either direction Thus the third hypothesis is H 3 Eight hour time weighed average noise levels are higher in li
21. when three or four people stood near the instrument s intake 56 CO concentration in an office environment is a surrogate for assessing indoor air quality J Heyer personal communication 2007 CO2 occurs as a product of human respiration According to Heyer the CO detected inside occupied spaces is typically a combination of natural background and human respiration He stated that it is highly unlikely that the operation of the NexPress had any direct effect on CO levels in either room The concentration of this gas was measured to see how well fresh air supplied through the ventilation system of the rooms was able to dilute indoor air contaminants The meaning of the preceding results was that the operation of the NexPress does not result in a significant rise of CO2 and that the rooms in which these presses are located are well ventilated according to ASHRAE and OSHA 57 Figure 14 shows the percentage of relative humidity detected at the operator station Q Trak Relative Humidity Preliminary Run 30 z ASHRAE RECOMMENDATION 25 23 PRESS SHORT PRESS LONG RUN 21 ISIDLE RUN ISIDE 20 19 OSHA MINIMUM Percentage of Relative Humidity 17 15 r r r r r r r 13 12 00 13 40 48 14 09 36 14 38 24 15 07 12 15 36 00 16 04 48 16 33 36 17 02 24 17 31 12 Time of Day hh mm ss Q Trak Relative Humidity Experiment Run 30
22. 0 ultrafines per cubic centimeter in a carpeted office setting where 30 people work This level means that in comparison the rooms in which the digital presses are located 85 are very clean rooms registering most of the time less than 5 000 ultrafines per cubic centimeter The ultrafine particulate results are inconclusive because as of early 2007 there are no specific standards or guidelines have been developed specifically for ultrafine particulates This is an area rich with potential for further research and until this is done it is not fair to say that the NexPress emits high moderate or low levels of ultrafine particulates from 20 nanometers to 1 000 nanometers in diameter Neither the NexPress toner nor the developer can account for the concentrations of respirable dust or ultrafine particulates The reason was that the toners have a volume average diameter of eight micrometers and developers which consist of toner and carrier have a carrier that has a volume average diameter of 15 micrometers Therefore it can be concluded that neither the NexPress toners nor the developers play any role in respirable dust or ultrafine particulate concentrations This is not necessarily the case for total dust concentrations Gravimetric analysis revealed that the concentration of total dust in the rooms where the NexPress were installed were five orders of magnitude lower than OSHA PEL and ACGIH recommendation during the preliminary run and si
23. 29 ASHRAE RECOMMENDATION 27 25 23 PRESS PRESS SHORT 21 C ISIDLE S LONG RUN EE spe RUN an 20 OSHA MINIMUM h 19 Percentage of Relative Humidity 17 15 a ee ie 13 12 00 13 40 48 14 09 36 14 38 24 15 07 12 15 36 00 16 04 48 16 33 36 17 02 24 17 31 12 Time of Day hh mm ss T Figure 14 Relative Humidity During the Preliminary A and Experiment B Runs 58 One of OSHA s general rules is that office indoor temperature and relative humidity are matters of human comfort rather than hazards that could cause death or serious physical harm OSHA has no specific regulations addressing them however Section HI Chapter 2 Subsection V of the OSHA Technical Manual Recommendations for the Employer provides the following guidance to prevent or minimize indoor air quality issues temperature must be in the range of 68 76 F and relative humidity in the range of 20 60 In its Standard 55 Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy ASHRAE recommends 68 74 F during the winter and 30 60 relative humidity as conditions that will be acceptable to 80 or more of the occupants within the space Relative humidity is important for most print on paper processes because low percentages are catalysts for static electricity sparks which are hazardous to electronic components inside printers and they can cause the paper sheets to electrostatica
24. 75 dB at the operator station and never went below 66 dB This dosimeter did not detect any significant differences in noise levels between the short and long run However it detected in average a relatively high noise level of 70 68 dB the second highest despite the fact that it was the farthest away from the NexPress 71 Figure 27 shows the noise levels east of the machine halfway between the NexPress and one of the walls doseBadge EAST of the Nexpress 2500 90 pm OSHA PEL EIGHT HOUR TWA 85 m PRESS i PRESS SHORT 2 80 IS IDLE LONG RUN ISIDLE S RUN a H oO 3 275 T 70 Qo o 2 65 60 5 reer T T 7 T r T 13 12 13 40 14 09 14 38 15 07 15 36 16 04 16 33 17 02 Time of Day hh mm Figure 27 Noise Levels Detected East of the Press Out of the five dosimeters the east dosimeter most clearly reflects the time periods that correspond to the long print run followed by a pause followed by the short print run As with all the other stationary dosimeters the east dosimeter never picked up noise levels above 75 dB This dosimeter detected in average a noise level of 70 48 dB 78 Figure 28 shows the noise levels north of the NexPress doseBadge NORTH of the Nexpress 2500 90 OSHA PEL EIGHT HOUR TWA 85 a j i i i V PRESS i PRESS i SHORT oS i i a g0 i ISIDLE LONG RUN j IS IDLE RUN T T g l U v v c75 y
25. A has jurisdiction over all workplace environments but as of early 2007 no regulatory agencies control indoor air quality exposure limits Of the estimated 100 000 toxic substances to which building occupants are potentially exposed fewer than 400 have recommended exposure limits Hess Kosa 2002 The EPA counts indoor air pollution as one of the top environmental concerns in the continental United States Most people spend the majority of their lives indoors and that pollution is consistently found to be two to five times higher indoors than outdoors Hess Kosa 2002 The EPA issued the National Ambient Air Quality Standards with the intention of controlling emissions of six specific pollutants when released in large quantities such as by vehicle exhausts sulfur dioxide total particulate carbon monoxide oxidants nitrogen dioxide and lead Poor air exchange rates have traditionally been blamed for health complaints that have no known sources The health effects of poor indoor air quality depend upon the effect of each air contaminant its concentration duration of exposure and individual sensitivity In an effort to address increasing air quality health complaints various recognized institutions have made an effort to recommend guidelines The most prominent of these organizations 18 in the United States include the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists ACGIH and the American Society for Heating Refrigerating
26. PEL as well as the peak noise PEL of 140 dB appears in OSHA Standard 29CFR1910 95 The operator was on average exposed to the highest levels of noise 71 97 dB The dosimeter located west of the NexPress was exposed to the least amount of noise 68 25 dB Figure 24 shows the noise levels recorded by all the dosimeters Cirrus doseBadge Dosimeters Experiment Run 90 OSHA PEL TWA WEST OPERATOR EAST NORTH SOUTH Nh A b a i MN ha AM ni fly i il yi AKG ua e N u eye sal WT ONY Vo i W WL Noise Level in deciBels dB Z N o m lt p p aN S gt ES SES p oa a 60 r a e E E E a E E E E E T a T a T a S a a T a a e a a a a E a E E a E o e e e a Time of Day hh mm Figure 24 Noise Levels Detected by All Five Dosimeters Around the NexPress The red curve in Figure 24 corresponds to the dosimeter that was carried by the operator and by comparison to the other four curves it is evident that the operator was exposed to higher decibel levels than any of the other dosimeters Each curve is analyzed separately in the following pages 75 Figure 25 shows the noise levels that the operator sustained OPERATOR doseBadge 90 OSHA PEL EIGHT HOUR TWA press _ press SHORT a 85 7 Is IDLE LONG RUN IS IDLE RUN g so H _ a i i H
27. Potential Air Contaminants and Noise Levels Generated by the Kodak NexPress 2500 Digital Production Color Press A Study of its Emissions of Respirable Dust Ultrafine Particulates Volatile Organic Compounds Ozone and Occupational Noise Exposure by Federico Leal A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in the School of Print Media in the College of Imaging Arts and Sciences of the Rochester Institute of Technology May 2007 Primary Thesis Advisor Dr Scott Williams Secondary Thesis Advisor Dr Sandra Rothenberg School of Print Media Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester New York Certificate of Approval Potential Air Contaminants and Noise Levels Generated by the Kodak NexPress 2500 Digital Production Color Press A Study of its Emissions of Respirable Dust Ultrafine Particulates Volatile Organic Compounds Ozone and Occupational Noise Exposure This is to certify that the Master s Thesis of Federico Leal Has been approved by the Thesis Committee as satisfactory for the thesis requirement for the Master of Science degree at the convocation of May 2007 Thesis Committee Primary Thesis Advisor Secondary Thesis Advisor Graduate Thesis Coordinator Graduate Program Coordinator Chair School of Print Media ii Thesis Author Permission Statement Potential Air Contaminants and Noise Levels Generated by the Kodak NexPress 2500 D
28. U S Occupational Health and Safety Administration OSHA through the application of engineering controls and hearing conservation programs if necessary Reasons for Interest This topic first caught the author s attention when Dr Mary Anne Evans gave a lecture in the Materials and Processes II course which is part of the Masters in Print Media curriculum at RIT Dr Evans explained that there is very little information publicly available on the environmental impact of digital printing when compared to all the information that is available for lithographic printing She also stated that printers rarely try to ascertain the impact that their technologies have on the environment In 10 or 20 years the author will run his family s printing business in Costa Rica There is a limited market for books magazines and other products that are printed conventionally in this small country Therefore in time the company will have to expand into variable data digital printing The author chose the Kodak NexPress 2500 over the HP Indigo 3000 because the Kadam study 2004 which Dr Evans referred to had already analyzed that particular technology Glossary of Frequently Used Terms Table 1 is a glossary of terms that will be used frequently throughout this document Table 1 Glossary of Frequently Used Terms Term Definition in the Context of This Study Also known as static printing This term refers to tra
29. ach the cassette tubing and pump to the location of interest Check the pump assembly at least once every two hours for proper operation At the end of the experiment reinsert the assembly into the calibration setup Without adjusting the pump flow rate record the flow rate of the pump as displayed by the flowmeter and turn the pump off Remove the cassette from the pump and then seal the inlet and outlet The final phase was to send the dust cassettes to a laboratory for analysis Kodak chose Galson Laboratories in East Syracuse New York for this task The laboratory reported the mass of dust particulates retained in the air filters using NIOSH Analytical Method 500 NIOSH is the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health This gravimetric method is based on the principle that the difference in weight of a filter before and after collecting the sample will yield the mass of dust or particulate matter retained on the filter after moisture has been removed Dividing the reported mass by the volume of the room where the measurements took place yielded the concentration of total dust in the corresponding rooms This concentration was compared to the total dust OSHA PEL the ACGIH recommendation and the Kadam results 45 Measurement of Volatile Organic Compounds Volatile organic compound emissions were measured using the TVA 1000B Organic Vapor Analyzer This device has an accuracy of 2 5 ppm from one to 10 000
30. and ventilation rates with mass balance models that characterized the printing space It was estimated that this typical small printing facility was likely to release one to two tons of VOCs per year In cities like Los Angeles California printer facilities have a four ton per year limit on VOC emissions According to Gerry Bonetto of the Printing Industries Association of Southern California Bloom 1999 some members of the industry see this as a deterrent to growth Since state and local regulations cannot and should not be circumvented a way must be found to minimize these emissions and the overall environmental impact of printing operations if the industry is to continue to thrive locally and globally McMahon 1988 measured the noise exposures of 274 print production workers in 34 establishments in the New York City area In general a greater percentage of the workers in the bindery departments were exposed to potentially harmful noise than workers in the press departments Results of this study indicated that many workers in the binding areas part of the printing industry might be at risk of occupational hearing loss Digital Printing Technologies According to Kadam 2004 digital printers get most of the information about health and safety hazards from the Material Safety Data Sheets MSDS that come with the chemicals they purchase and from the operator manuals provided by the digital press manufacturer Additional EHS resources
31. at uses a matrix to compare the expected capacitance values at various relative humidity percentages and this is the percentage that the instrument displays and logs The Q Trak undergoes a factory calibration once a year The following procedure was used in order to take measurements 1 Turn the Q Trak on and allow it to warm up for one minute 2 Press Sampling Mode until Log Mode 1 is displayed 3 Press the Sample key the Q Trak will measure and log CO relative humidity and temperature simultaneously 4 At the end of measurements press the Sample key and turn the Q Trak off The Q Trak logged CO levels in parts per million relative humidity as a percentage and temperature in degrees Fahrenheit These three variables were analyzed separately and they were plotted in the y axis of a graph where the x axis represented the time of day in hours minutes and seconds This allowed visual comparison of each level to its corresponding OSHA and ASHRAE recommendation for maximum and minimum acceptable exposure levels 37 Measurement of Respirable Dust Respirable dust was measured using the 8520 DustTrak Aerosol Monitor which was placed in the operator station in all runs The DustTrak seen in Figure 7 has an aerosol concentration range of 0 001 to 100 milligrams per cubic meter mg m and a particulate size range of 0 1 to 10 micrometers This instrument uses a pump to draw air through the 2 5 micrometer wide discriminator and
32. cibels to be Levels Arranged in Ascending Order Added to the Higher Level 0 lt A lt 1 3 dB 2 lt A lt 4 2 dB 5 lt A lt 9 1dB A gt 10 No Addition If the difference between the first two dosimeters A 68 58 68 25 0 33 is less than one then according to Table 2 the combined noise effect will be the higher of the two levels plus three decibels see the first row of Table 2 This new value 68 58 3 71 58 dB is then compared to the following level 70 48 dB using the rules of Table 2 and the process is repeated until there are no more dosimeters to compare The Rule of Thumb Method is explained step by step in Table 3 The average noise detected by the five dosimeters appears in italic font and their single combined effect according to the Rule of Thumb Method is shown in bold font Table 3 Sample Application of the Rule of Thumb Method Step nae aie Rationale According to Table 2 1 68 25 dB 68 58 dB 71 58dB A 0 3 Higher of the two 3 dB 2 71 58 dB 70 48 dB 74 58 dB A 1 1 Higher of the two 3 dB 3 74 58 dB 70 68 dB 76 58 dB A 3 9 Higher of the two 2 dB 4 76 58 dB 71 97 dB 77 58 dB A 4 6 Higher of the two 1 dB If the difference between any two sources falls between the ranges specified in Table 2 for example if A 1 50 dB then industrial hygienists must use their own discretion in order to proceed Decisions such as this are made in Step 2 an
33. cleaner under the same conditions yields an 80 dB TWA exposure wikipedia org 2007 which is acceptable The noise level data supports the conclusion that noise levels four feet and beyond around the NexPress are well within OSHA and ACGIH requirements This is a safe machine to operate without ear protection during eight continuous hours Perhaps the most important conclusion to be drawn by the analysis of the data was that there was no noticeable difference on any of the measured parameters between the short and the long runs The recorded data suggest that this press was manufactured in such a way that its consumables are used up evenly regardless of print count the number of printed sheets This may not be the case with power consumption but this variable was not included in the present project and is grounds for further research 88 Implications of the Findings The results of this study indicate that the NexPress 2500 is safe to operate only with regards to the EHS parameters herein tested under normal conditions in the office environments in which they were studied More specific implications include e Carbon Dioxide assuming that the NexPress 2500 does not contribute to CO2 emissions and that its concentration can only be assigned to the exhalations of the people in the room at the time of the measurements by extrapolation of the levels detected in this study it would take ten persons at or around the operator station
34. communication 2006 Kodak s Advanced Technology Chief Engineer also did not approve of the idea of a mass balance experiment given the cost and time restrictions of this project The issue was that the time needed to get meaningful data was not practical i e enough For example in order to get 100 grams of toner waste you would need to run about 10 000 pages but 100 grams is barely enough to prime the waste system so the amount that you would collect in the waste bottle could be much smaller depending on the state of the machine prior to the start of the test In addition the amount of waste generated is highly dependant on the type of job that you run single sided or double coverage etc and the state of the machine To get statistically significant data for mass balance you would likely need to run a few hundred thousand prints with a variety of images I didn t think that was practical T N Tombs personal communication 2006 24 The NexPress 2500 and its Environmental Footprint NexPress started as a joint venture between the Eastman Kodak Company and Heidelberg and in early 2003 Heidelberg sold all its interests in this venture to Kodak J Vanslette personal communication 2006 The NexPress 2500 owes its name to the fact that it can print up to 2 500 sheets 12 by 18 inches per hour It is a digital color press with a 600 dots per inch resolution and is advertised as having a reliability and usable lifetime similar to t
35. compared to a previous study that examined the environmental impacts of HP Indigo 3000 versus the Heidelberg Speedmaster 74 All the test results were below the permissible exposure limits of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration The NexPress proved environmentally friendlier than the HP Indigo 3000 and the Heidelberg Speedmaster 74 in all aspects under scrutiny except for average noise exposure The results also show that the NexPress emitted similar gas aerosol and noise levels regardless of print run length This study highlights the need to develop regulations for ultrafine particulates demonstrates how to compare environmental aspects between asymmetric printing platforms and delivers a methodology to conduct indoor air quality and noise tests in a prominent branch of the digital printing industry xii Chapter 1 Introduction This study is a combination of indoor air quality measurements with a noise level survey around the NexPress 2500 digital printer while it was running under normal operating conditions The following parameters were measured carbon dioxide levels temperature relative humidity respirable dust ultrafine particulates total dust volatile organic compounds ozone peak noise and time weighed average noise Topic Statement Printers cannot easily replace expensive presses overnight just because the government determines that they are using harmful chemicals Therefore managers of printing com
36. consequences if not handled carefully because customer concern for the environment is stronger than ever Envirowise established in 2004 that it is beneficial to be seen to be green in the eyes of customers local authorities government environmental protection and local residents This means being able to demonstrate through documentary evidence that the printing company has considered environmental issues and has taken steps to minimize adverse impacts These impacts can be divided in two categories direct impacts those over which the printer has control and indirect impacts those over which the printer has influence The latter are associated with the operations of material and utility suppliers as well as product use and disposal An environmental aspect is normally considered significant if it is controlled by legislation has the potential to cause demonstrable harm to the environment or is of concern to interested parties 12 Printing companies whose environmental policies include waste reduction recycling and proper chemical disposal are realizing considerably reduced operating costs and improved manufacturing efficiencies Burke 1992 Such savings can result in a competitive pricing advantage which benefits the supplier and the customer For example R R Donnelley amp Sons Co utilizes solvent recovery systems for its gravure printing operations that reduce chemical waste and save solvents Some printers are purchas
37. corded an average of 61 9 dB in digital printing whereas the current study recorded 77 58 dB Therefore Ho3 is false 81 Table 6 summarizes the results of the present study compared to the results of the Kadam study In the cases where there are two limits such as the case of total dust for which OHSA mandates a maximum of 15 mg m and ACGIH suggests no more than 10 mg m the lower safer of the two limits is shown on Table 6 Table 6 Comparison of Results of the Kadam Study and the Present Study EHS PEL or Kadam Kadam Leal Aspect TLV Lithography Wet Ink Dry Toner Respirable Dust 3 3 3 3 Conce ans 3 mg m lt 0 3 mg m lt 0 3 mg m lt 0 052 mg m Ultrafine 3 Concentrations None 7 T lt 30 000 pt cm Ton Dun 10 mg m lt 0 8 mg m lt 0 9 mg m 2000073 mg m Concentrations 8 i 8 8 i 8 VOC Concentrations eae a o ppm ee Se Ozone Concentrations 100 ppb 7 7 lt 8 ppb Bea NOISE 140dB 147 74B 120 6 dB 82 7 dB Levels ETW A 85 dB 63 1 dB 61 9 dB 77 6 dB Noise Levels The respirable and total dust levels in Table 6 show that the NexPress 2500 emits fewer dust particulates than either the Heidelberg Speedmaster 74 or the HP Indigo 3000 However this conclusion may prove to be false Kadam makes no mention of the volume of the rooms nor of the environmental conditioning systems present in the rooms in which his measurements took place It may well be that the three machines emit the same mass o
38. d Step 4 of Table 3 and the author s logic was to err on the side of caution by adding more decibels rather than less to the calculation This is the reason why this method is not as accurate as the Calculation Method in which no subjective decisions are involved The second method used by industrial hygienists to calculate the combined sound pressure level SPL detected by multiple dosimeters is the Calculation Method and it involves the formula seen in Equation 1 SPL 10log 10 Equation 1 Formula Used in the Calculation Method Equation 2 seen below results from inputting the noise averages used in Table 3 into Equation 1 SPL 10log 1068 5 1 106858 41004810 4100681 4101271 SPL 77 2dB Equation 2 Application of the Calculation Method Formula The result obtained using the Rule of Thumb Method 77 58 dB is similar to the total obtained using the Calculation Method 77 2 dB this is not a coincidence The Rule of Thumb Method was designed by industrial hygienists to produce a similar result to that of the Calculation Method but the former can be calculated by hand When using the Rule of Thumb Method the industrial hygienist will not need to use a calculator with a logarithmic function as with the Calculation Method Finally OSHA and ACGIH use different limits for time weighed average noise exposures as seen in Table 4 These values are called Permissible Exposure Limits PEL by OSHA and Threshold Li
39. d dryness of the throat eyes and nose In addition to respirable dust according to Aerias 2006 of recent concern are ultrafine particulates which are less than 2 5 micrometer in diameter Ultrafines are a problem because they cannot be detected with the sampling equipment traditionally used to measure other particulates The health hazards associated with the exposure to ultrafine 15 particulates suspended in the air are poorly understood Researchers in California conducted a study concerning human cell damage from the inhalation of ultrafine particulates Tran 2003 They state that ultrafine particulates not only lodge deep inside the lungs but also penetrate deep into the mitochondria the power source of a human cell and remain there indefinitely Over time ultrafines lodged in the cells cause severe structural damage and impair proper cell function The U S government represented by OSHA stated in their Occupational Exposure to Hexavalent Chromium article February 2006 that ultrafines penetrate into the alveolar region of the lung are slowly cleared from the respiratory tract and can lead to pulmonary inflammation and respiratory disease if sufficient amounts are inhaled The University of Rochester s Particulate Matter Center is currently testing the hypothesis that ultrafine particulates occurring in the urban atmosphere cause adverse health effects including increased morbidity and mortality in people with respirat
40. d long runs all energy consuming units such as press motors hydraulic oil pumps conveyor belts fans etc have to be clearly identified and their power consumption measured Energy efficiency metrics can be determined by relating total energy consumption to different print run lengths and or usage of consumables Ozone Emissions from Peripheral Equipment The author suggests that the experiment be repeated on each of the other machines in the Demo room separately with the rest of the machines turned completely off and their power supply cut This should help determine exactly how much ozone each one emits independently and thus by subtraction determine exactly how much is emitted by the NexPress 2500 91 Bibliography 92 Bibliography American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists ACGIH 2000 2000 TLVs and BEIs Threshold Limit Values for chemical Substances and Physical Agents and Biological Exposure Indices ACGIH Worldwide Ohio USA Berger E H et al 1986 Noise and Hearing Conservation Manual American Industrial Hygiene Association AIHA 143 Virginia USA Bloom R 1999 AQMD targeting press cleaning solvents again Orange County Business Journal 22 25 30 Burke R 1992 Green marketing American Printer 2 0 2 48 50 Cox K 1990 Environmental issues The Ins and Outs American Printer 205 3 44 46 Dasibi Environmental Corporation 1990 7008 UV Photometric Ozone
41. ditional Conventional ink on paper approaches offset lithography being the most Printing common where every sheet is reproduced from the same image carrier fixed with the same image Romano 2001 Unit of measurement of sound level one tenth of a Bel B Decibel dB OSHA 2007 The marking material that the NexPress uses It is made up of a Dry Toner polymer binder a negative charge agent and a colorant it develops the latent image and it is transferred onto the paper NexPress Solutions LLC 2006 Table 1 continued Glossary of Frequently Used Terms Term Definition in the Context of This Study EHS Aspect An element of an organization s activities products or services that can interact with the environment health or safety of the employees Envirowise 2006 Electrophotography A printing or copying method that uses an electrical charge to create an image on a photoconductive surface Toner is attracted to the charged area then transferred and fused to the paper Romano 2001 Long Run An entire printing press operation cycle that requires a relatively long time for completion due to heavy print load Kadam 2004 In this study two hours or more was considered a long run Particulates Solid or liquid matter suspended in the air including nontoxic materials such as soot dust and dirt and toxic materials such as lead asbestos suspended sulfates and nitrates Aerias 2006
42. e and is absorbed in proportion to the amount of CO2 present The filter in front of the detector removes all of the light except at 4 26 micrometers corresponding to CO2 This device conforms to the EPA Method 3A Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations CFR 60 Appendix M The Q Trak uses a thermistor to measure temperature It has an effective range of 32 to 122 F an accuracy of F and a resolution of 0 1 F The thermistor is a thermally sensitive resistor that exhibits a change in electrical resistance when it is subject to a change in temperature The resistance decreases with an increase in temperature and the instrument has a built in algorithm that uses a calibration curve a detailed matrix that compares the expected resistance values at various temperature points across the aforementioned range and this is the temperature that the instrument finally displays and logs The Q Trak uses a thin film capacitive sensor to measure relative humidity It has a range of five to 95 relative humidity an accuracy of 3 and a resolution of 0 1 The sensor operates on the principle that changes in relative humidity cause the capacitance of the sensor to change in a detectable and repeatable manner The sensor itself is a combination of a substrate electrodes and a thin film of hygroscopic a substance that tends to absorb moisture from the air polymer material As with the 36 temperature this instrument has a built in algorithm th
43. e manufacturer calibrates the Reader unit annually The following procedure was used in order to take noise measurements 1 Turn on and position the Reader unit within four inches of the doseBadge having the infrared ports on the doseBadge and the Reader unit facing each other Turn on the doseBadge 2 Press the Run key Wait until the status of the unit reads OK 3 Repeat steps 1 2 for all doseBadges used 4 Press the Stop key and wait until the status of the Reader reads OK The five doseBadges transmitted the noise levels they detected in decibels to the Reader unit These noise levels were plotted separately in the y axis of a line graph one graph for every noisemeter where the x axis represented the time of day in hours minutes and seconds This allowed visual comparison of the noise levels to the time weighed average OSHA PEL ACGIH TLV and the Kadam results Limitations of the Methodology The preceding methodology was designed specifically for the Kodak NexPress 2500 and the standard consumables that Kodak sells for it None of the methods results or conclusions of this study can be compared to those of Kadam 2004 for mass balance material consumption resource utilization nor waste measurement 53 Chapter 6 Analysis of Experimental Results Two types of print runs were executed preliminary and experiment runs Preliminary runs were conducted in a smaller office environment than the experiment runs The ord
44. en release Calibrate Zero should be displayed if not then repeat steps 1 6 Press the Sample key and allow the one minute countdown to complete The zero is now stored To return to survey mode press the Calibrate key Connect the provided flowmeter to the 2 5 micrometer inlet Use the provided screwdriver to adjust the screw controlling the flow rate located on the front of the DustTrak such that the flowmeter reads 1 7 1 m Disconnect the flow meter and connect the sampling tubing to the 2 5 micrometer inlet 39 The following procedure was used to take measurements l 2 Confirm the zero of the DustTrak following the previous set of instructions Press the Sampling Mode key until Log 1 is displayed Press the Sample key to begin recording Recording should be displayed At the end of the sampling period press the Sampling Mode key until Survey Mode is displayed Turn the DustTrak off The DustTrak logged respirable dust concentrations in milligrams per cubic meter These concentrations were plotted in the y axis of a line graph where the x axis represented the time of day in hours minutes and seconds This allowed visual comparison of the respirable dust concentration to the corresponding OSHA PEL the ACGIH recommendation and the Kadam results 40 Measurement of Ultrafine Particulates Ultrafine particulates were measured using the TSI 8525 P Trak Ultrafine Particulate Counter seen in Fi
45. ent produced in the detectors A gas called Span of known concentration is used to calibrate the vapor analyzer to a known electrical current produced by that particular concentration The following set of instructions was followed in order to calibrate the device according to the TVA Instruction Booklet 1996 1 Turn the vapor analyzer on and allow it to run for 30 minutes in ambient air 2 From the Main Menu press 2 Setup followed by 1 Calibration 3 Press 2 Background followed by 1 Both 4 Introduce the calibration gas into the probe 5 Press Enter if the calibration was successful the word Accepted will be displayed if not follow steps 1 4 again until it does 6 Press Exit until the Calibration Menu is displayed 47 Press 3 Span and then press 1 Both Press 4 Gas Conc and then press 1 Use the up and down arrow keys to select the unit PPM or PPB of the calibration gas concentration In these experiments the author used PPM Type the numerical concentration of the calibration gas and then press Enter This is the procedure that was followed in order to take measurements according to its Instruction Booklet 1996 l Zz Screw the sampling nose onto the wand and connect the tubes to the analyzer Screw the hydrogen tank into the side of the vapor analyzer Note that the threads for the hydrogen tank are reversed Switch the red hydrogen cutoff valve to the open position Turn t
46. er of the print runs short and long was deliberately inverted during the experiment runs In the following pages the reader will be presented with stacked graphics the graph on top corresponds to preliminary run data labeled A the lower graph represents experiment run data labeled B The scale of each pair of graphs is identical in both axes in order to simplify visual comparison 54 Carbon Dioxide Relative Humidity and Temperature Figure 13 shows the carbon dioxide CO2 readings detected by the Q Trak Q Trak CO2 Preliminary Run 5 000 MAXIMUM RECOMMENDED BY OSHA 1 190 MAXIMUM RECOMMENDED BY ASHRAE 550 u w e Parts per Million of CO2 PRESS SHORT PRESS LONG RUN ISIDLE RUN ISIDLE 470 450 r F r T 13 12 00 13 40 48 14 09 36 14 38 24 15 07 12 15 36 00 16 04 48 16 33 36 17 02 24 ITEE Pi Time of Day hh mm ss Q Trak CO Experiment Run 5 000 MAXIMUM RECOMMENDED BY OSHA 1 158 MAXIMUM RECOMMENDED BY ASHRAE 550 6 530 i i 7 o c 510 PRESS i PRESS fi SHORT a IS IDLE i LONG RUN tate HOR a W H H H a 490 i H t 0 a 470 450 13 12 00 13 40 48 14 09 36 14 38 24 15 07 12 15 36 00 16 04 48 16 33 36 17 02 24 17 31 12 Time of Day hh mm ss Figure 13 CO2 Readings During the Preliminary A and Experiment B Runs 39 In their Standard 62 1 2004 Ventilatio
47. f dust particulates but if the Demo room is much larger than the others the dust concentrations from the NexPress will be lower Only under the assumption that the three 82 rooms had identical volume can it be concluded that the NexPress 2500 emits less respirable dust and less total dust than the Heidelberg Speedmaster 74 or the HP Indigo 3000 In the case of VOCs the author knows by having examined the MSDS for the NexPress consumables that there should not be any VOCs emitted by the NexPress The less than 6 ppm is considered a background level Essentially what the instrument indicates is that there are no significant levels of VOCs being emitted by the NexPress The peak noise level detected in the lithographic process exceeded the OSHA PEL however the exposure was momentary not sustained and unfortunately Kadam does not explain it nor theorize Noise peaks in both wet and dry digital printing were below permitted levels with dry toner digital printing proving to be the safer technology Time weighted average noise levels were higher in dry toner digital printing than in lithography or wet ink printing This can be explained by the fact that the author used five different dosimeters deliberately distributed four feet around the printer and one carried by the operator whereas Kadam only used one noise level meter attached to the operator Based only on these four parameters respirable dust total dust volatile organic c
48. gital printing industry Gary Jones 2005b stated that conventional printers should learn about air pollution regulations that affect their businesses and discover whether or not a permit application is required by their state or local governments He also notes that managers have to accept the fact that some level of emissions is inevitable with the current technologies The most common regulations that must be met by all printers include those described in the following federal acts The Clean Air Act The Clean Water Act The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act The Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act and the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act Jones 2005a Under the Clean Air Act in the 1970s the U S Environmental Protection Agency EPA established national ambient air quality standards for pollutants believed to pose the greatest overall threat to public health and welfare Cox 1990 For example the 17 EPA issues technical control guidelines to help states develop regulations to reduce VOC emissions from existing businesses Petersen 1991 The EPA lists offset lithography as one source of VOC emissions that states should consider controlling This institution defines lithographic ink oils from web offset sheetfed offset and letterpress news inks as volatile because they participate in photochemical reactions The EPA regulates among other things outdoor ambient air quality OSH
49. gure 12 The doseBadge meets standards IEC 61252 1993 Personal Sound Exposure Meters and the American National Standards Institute ANSI S1 25 1991 Personal Noise Dosimeters The Reader meets Internal Acoustic Calibrator IEC International Equipment Center standard 60942 2001 Class 2 The doseBadge has a range of 70 decibel dB to 130 dB time weighed average and 120 to 140 dB as peak sound pressure The noise dosimeters and the reader unit are seen in Figure 12 Four units were placed around the NexPress and the operator wore a fifth one at shoulder height The dosimeters were placed around the four sides of the machine using a North South East West configuration during the experiment run a sketch of this distribution can be seen in the Results chapter of this document Each dosimeter was assigned a specific color that identified it throughout this study p Figure 12 The CK110 doseBadge Noise Dosimeters and the Reader Unit According to its operation manual 2006 the doseBadge uses a microphone to pick up the energy levels of incoming sound waves The microphone works by using a thin diaphragm made from a thin piece of metal that is made to vibrate by sound waves 52 The vibration of the diaphragm causes a ceramic element to oscillate thereby bending a fulcrum that generates an electrical current Finally the magnitude of the current is converted to decibels The doseBadges and the Reader communicate via infrared ports Th
50. gure 8 This instrument was placed in the operator station in all print runs Figure 8 The 8525 P Trak Ultrafine Particulate Counter The P Trak has a concentration range of zero to 500 000 particulates per cubic centimeter a sample rate of 100 cubic centimeters per minute and a particulate size range of 0 02 to one micrometer This instrument draws in air using a pump and uses a fixed filter system to screen out particulates greater than one micrometer The collected particulates are then enlarged by the introduction of 99 5 pure isopropyl alcohol These enlarged particulates are then made to pass between a light source and detector where the latter measures the amount of transmitted light 41 As with the DustTrak here the amount of light detected is inversely proportional to the number not the mass of ultrafine particulates present in the sample This data is then displayed as the number of ultrafine particulates per cubic centimeter This device is sent to the manufacturer annually for calibration and maintenance The following instructions were used in order to confirm the zero point of the device according to its Operation and Service Manual 2006 l 2 Turn the P Trak on and allow it to warm up for one minute Attach the provided zero filter assembly to the P Trak The particulate count displayed should read zero after five to ten seconds After zero has been reached allow the P Trak to continue running f
51. he vapor analyzer on and wait 15 seconds for the Main Menu to display then press the Control button Press turns pump on then press Control and then press 2 Ignite If the FID flame fails to ignite repeat steps 1 5 At the Main Menu press Run and measure for as long as planned On the probe press the button labeled Log At the end of the sampling period turn the instrument off The TVA 1000B logged the concentration of VOCs in parts per million using EPA method 25A These concentrations were plotted in the y axis of a line graph where 48 the x axis represented the time of day in hours minutes and seconds This allowed visual comparison of the VOC concentrations for preliminary and experiment data Measurement of Ozone Concentration Ozone concentration was measured using the Dasibi 1008 UV Photometric Ozone Analyzer and it conforms to EPA Method 411 Lodge 1989 This instrument has a range of zero to 1 000 ppm a sensitivity of 0 001 ppm or one part per billion an accuracy of 1 and a flow rate of three liters per minute The ozone analyzer and the device used to calibrate it are seen in Figure 11 This instrument was placed in the operator station in all print runs Figure 11 The Dasibi 1008 UV Photometric Ozone Analyzer and the Primary Standard This instrument uses a pump to draw in air and splits the air stream into two pathways One pathway contains a scrubber that removes any ozone before enteri
52. hose of lithographic presses Kodak Graphic Communications Group 2006 This press uses dry toner electrophotographic technology to print digital data directly onto the substrates The printing system has two major components the Kodak NexPress 2500 digital print engine and the Kodak NexStation Front End Kodak Graphic Communications Group 2006 This last component is where the digital files are ripped trapped compressed and queued for printing and it enables remote access through the customer s network with remote client software The NexPress has four electrophotographic printing units for black yellow magenta and cyan dry toners It has a fifth optional imaging unit that accepts red green or blue for color gamut expansion or a clear dry toner for image protection and enhancement Ng 2006 25 Figure 3 shows the main components involved in this printing process High Capacity Environmental Optional Automatic Delivery Control System Fifth Imaging Unit Sheet Positioner HCD ECS ASP I 1 1 Olg x A i l z Fuser Same Edge Multi Feeder Perfector System SEP Figure 3 Cross section of the NexPress Source Kodak G C G 2007 Ng 2003 describes this dry toner digital printing process as follows 1 Media are released from the paper feeders lower right of Figure 3 and pass to the Automatic Sheet Positioner ASP top right of Figure 3 2 The ASP places the media on the Web T
53. i Ss Au HIH T J I j A A areca 2 70 i N fi EE I i y 7 i i 2 r A TW 5 Z 65 i i hw 60 j T r T T T T 7 13 12 13 40 14 09 14 38 15 07 15 36 16 04 16 33 17 02 Time of Day hh mm Figure 25 NexPress Operator s Noise Exposure Levels During the Experiment Run In Figure 25 there are three distinct moments two at the middle of the long run 82 5 dB and 81 2 dB and one in the middle of the short run 82 7 dB the noise peak of the experiment when the noise level rose above 80 dB The numerous smaller spikes in the curve correspond to moments when the operator came closer to the machine raised his voice and or held conversations with the other people in the Demo room The noise level went below 65 dB when the NexPress was stopped after the long run and was made ready for the short run In average the operator was exposed to 71 97 dB of noise 76 Figure 26 shows the noise levels at the operator station seven feet south of the NexPress doseBadge SOUTH of the Nexpress 2500 90 5 OSHA PEL EIGHT HOUR TWA 85 a i i x PRESS i PRESS i SHORT a 80 4 IS IDLE LONG RUN IS IDLE 2A RUN v i 2 1 v v 75 7 gt co 70 a 5 z 65 60 r T T T r r r r 13 12 13 40 14 09 14 38 15 07 15 36 16 04 16 33 17 02 Time of Day hh mm Figure 26 Noise Levels Detected at the Operator Station During the Experiment Run Sound levels never exceeded
54. ibliographic record and abstract will be available to the worldwide community of scholars and researchers through the RIT DML I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis I also retain the right to use in future works such as articles or books all or part of this thesis I am aware that the Rochester Institute of Technology does not require registration of copyright for ETDs I hereby certify that if appropriate I have obtained and attached written permission statements from the owners of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my committee Signature of Author Date iii In Loving Memory of Agustina Arrieta Leal 1924 2006 Acknowledgements The following Kodak managers made this thesis possible Dr Arun Chowdry Cavan Kelsey Dr Thomas Tombs John Heyer and James Balmer Their cooperation and generosity always exceeded my expectations This thesis owes to the timely advice and assistance of Dr Jennifer Schneider Dr Mary Anne Evans Joshua Goldowitz Bill Garno Jeremy Vanslette Brian Waltz and Barbara Giordano Many thanks of course to my thesis advisors Dr Scott Williams and Dr Sandra Rothenberg and to the Harold W Gegenheimer Graduate Research Fellowship David Hartmann deserves special recognition and all my gratitude Table of Contents PRD SERA GC Vartsca ict tirtal aa tua
55. igital Production Color Press A Study of its Emissions of Respirable Dust Ultrafine Particulates Volatile Organic Compounds Ozone and Occupational Noise Exposure Author Federico Leal Degree Master of Science Program Graduate Print Media College Imaging Arts and Sciences I understand that I must submit a print copy of my thesis or dissertation to the RIT Archives per current RIT guidelines for the completion of my degree I hereby grant to the Rochester Institute of Technology and its agents the non exclusive license to archive and make accessible my thesis in whole or in part in all forms of media in perpetuity I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis or dissertation I also retain the right to use in future works such as articles or books all or part of this thesis Print Reproduction Permission Granted I Federico Leal hereby grant permission to the Rochester Institute of Technology to reproduce my printed thesis in whole or in part Any reproduction will not be for commercial use or profit Signature of Author Date Inclusion in the RIT Digital Media Library Electronic Thesis amp Dissertation Archive I Federico Leal additionally grant to the Rochester Institute of Technology Digital Media Library RIT DML the non exclusive license to archive and provide electronic access to my thesis in whole or in part in all forms of media in perpetuity I understand that my work in addition to its b
56. impacts the suspended dust against a plate Dust particulates greater than 2 5 micrometers contact and adhere to this plate thus being removed from the air stream Particulates smaller than this are suspended in the air and are drawn into the DustTrak The stream is directed between a light source and a detector the latter measures the amount of transmitted light which is inversely proportional to the mass of respirable dust present in the sample This information is then displayed as milligrams per cubic meter Figure 7 The 8520 DustTrak Aerosol Monitor 38 The DustTrak monitor conforms to EPA Method 5 and it is sent to the manufacturer for calibration and maintenance once a year The following set of instructions was used to confirm the zero point of the device in accordance to the 8520 DustTrak Operation and Service Manual 2006 i 10 11 12 Insert the 2 5 micrometer impaction plate and nozzle into the inlet of the DustTrak located on the front Turn the DustTrak on and allow it to warm up for one minute Attach the zero filter to the 2 5 micrometer nozzle Press the Time Constant key until 10 is displayed then release Wait until the measured values reach zero this may take up to one minute The DustTrak should settle on a value between 0 001 and 0 001 mg m If the displayed value is not within this range follow steps 1 5 Press and hold the Calibrate key until the display timer reaches zero th
57. ination of particulate matter was used to calculate total dust The cellulose filters used in this method only retain particulates larger than five micrometers in diameter 66 Galson Laboratories conducted the mass measurements seen in Figure 18 The most important fact is that the laboratory reports less than milligram values rather than total milligram values This is because 0 05 milligrams is the resolution of the instruments used by Galson Laboratories LABORATORY ANALYSIS REPORT GALSON LABORATORIES Client Eastman Kodak Company 6601 Kirkville Road Site Bldg 320 East Syracuse NY 13057 Project No R2053 315 432 5227 FAX 315 437 0571 Date Sampled 12 DEC 06 Account No 11230 www galsonlabs com Date Received 14 DEC 06 Login No L145014 Date Analyzed 20 DEC 06 Report ID 523517 Total Dust Sample ID Lab ID 323837 L145014 1 323842 L145014 2 323844 L145014 3 323838 L145014 4 LABORATORY ANALYSIS REPORT Client Eastman Kodak Company 6601 Kirkville Road Site Nexpress Sampling Project RIT East Syracuse NY 13057 Project No R2060 315 432 5227 FAX 315 437 0571 Date Sampled 19 JAN 07 Account No 11230 www galsonlabs com Date Received 25 JAN 07 Login No L146702 Date Analyzed 29 JAN 07 Report ID 526200 Total Dust Sample ID Lab ID 323841 L146702 1 323845 L146702 2 323843 L146702 3 323839 L146702 4 Figure 18 Laboratory Analysis Reports for Milligrams of Total Dus
58. ing pollution control systems and using other minimization techniques to protect the environment and avoid fines and plant shutdowns Petersen 1992 One problem is that too many printers worry about purchase costs but fail to consider operating or maintenance fees Furthermore modifying equipment to meet new regulations can be as costly as buying new equipment In the following paragraphs the reader is presented with examples of the findings of recent environmental research projects in the industry Leung 2005 conducted an indoor air quality assessment in seven printing plants His objective was to understand the effect of volatile organic compound VOC emissions on indoor air quality and to develop effective mitigation measures to protect workers VOCs are carbon containing chemicals that evaporate easily at room temperature for this reason they are an indoor air concern The measurements showed that although a variety of VOCs were presented in the indoor air none of them were close to the occupational exposure limit However short term personal exposure to total VOCs was very high when a press operator cleaned the blanket and ink rollers Therefore the occupational health risk was mainly due to repeated short term exposures during intermittent VOC emitting procedures rather than to long term exposure 13 Wadden 1995 determined emission rates during production for a sheetfed offset printing shop by combining the measured concentrations
59. is standard has since become the most commonly cited guideline for indoor air quality investigations 19 The Kadam Thesis The Kadam thesis 2004 which inspired the present study compared EHS aspects of sheetfed offset lithography as reflected by the Heidelberg Speedmaster 74 and liquid ink based electrophotographic digital printing as reflected by the HP Indigo 3000 These technologies are briefly explained in the following pages Figure 1 is a simplified cross section view of one of the imaging units of the Heidelberg Speedmaster 74 lithographic press whose emissions and noise levels Kadam studied Plate cylinder Blanket cylinder Blanket Impression cylinder Paper sheet Figure 1 The Sheetfed Offset Lithographic Process on the Heidelberg Speedmaster 74 Source Kipphan 2001 The inking rollers shown in red in Figure 1 and the dampening rollers the five small blue circles in Figure 1 are in contact with the plate by means of the plate cylinder The inked printing plate will roll over the circumference of the blanket cylinder which holds 20 the blanket in place transferring the ink to the blanket The blanket in turn will roll over the circumference of the impression cylinder which holds the sheet of paper The chemical solutions that were used to clean the ink rollers plates and blankets were the sources of VOCs that Kadam detected In this particular printing process the ink on the paper i
60. kground were detected during either of the runs of the NexPress 2500 other than the spike in Figure 20A What Figure 20B shows may be the instrument s zero base lined drift According to Technical Service of the Foxboro Company the manufacturer of the TVA 1000B this instrument is susceptible to this phenomenon which involves the resistance in the Wheatstone bridge type metering circuits inside this instrument As mentioned previously when the Flame Ionization Detector of the instrument works the hydrocarbons in the sample gas react with the hydrogen flame and release ions while a collector electrode with a polarizing voltage attracts these ions The migration of these ions produces a current which is directly proportional to the concentration of hydrocarbons introduced to the flame This current is then amplified and sent to a microprocessor and an analog readout device It is during this last step that the zero drift occurs some of the electrons in this current bounce back a form of feedback and the instrument interprets these electrons collectively as very low levels of hydrocarbons which are seen in Figure 20B The only way to control this phenomenon is to calibrate the instrument constantly J Schneider personal communication 2007 This effect is most visible when the instrument is trying to measure levels close to zero because the instrument hovers over a range where it is hard to distinguish current from non current 70
61. lly adhere together which results in paper jams especially during the winter when outdoor air becomes dryer On the other hand high percentages of relative humidity cause paper to absorb moisture and deform resulting in paper jams inside the machine As seen in Figure 14A the relative humidity recorded during the preliminary run was below the OSHA recommended minimum of 20 going as low as 18 6 These levels are also below the ASHRAE minimum of 30 The experiment run was within the OSHA recommendation but still below the ASHRAE minimum of 30 see Figure 14B Therefore if static electricity discharges become frequent inside the room the moisture in the air can be increased using industrial air humidifiers 59 Figure 15 shows the temperature recorded at the operator station by the Q Trak Temperature in Fahrenheit Degrees N or N Q Trak Temperature Preliminary Run N e N N w N N N N PRESS SHORT i PRESS LONG RUN ISIDLE RUN IS IDLE N B N N N D he N 68 2 A 13 12 00 13 40 48 14 09 36 14 38 24 15 07 12 15 36 00 16 04 48 16 33 36 17 02 24 17 31 12 Time of Day hh mm ss Temperature in Fahrenheit Degrees 72 5 74 2 74 13 2 Q Trak Temperature Experiment Run A ASHRAE RECOMMEN DATION PRESS PRESS H SHORT Nene 72 70 2 IS IDLE LONG RUN IS IDLE RUN 69 2 68 2
62. lo ye Vin iiss ARI OR oe es aa hd on None Vie a 31 The Checklist Used During the Print RUIS ccceccessesesseseeseseeseseeseseeseseeseseeseeeeseeeeseeecseeecsenseseeseeeaeeeaes 32 The DigitalPrintin o DEVICE iow eeavacav en ova vie eave sivas wer rsasovavieowawa saws asowe 33 Gi Ve ore Mal dled ef 0 eee eer eee REECE OE OREO Oe oO Oe eC ee oe oro 33 Choice of the Print Targetes e an E E ATEA sane en Ne 34 vi Measurement of Ventilation Parameters ce eeeseesceeeseeeeseesesceccscescseescsecsceecsceeeseessseesceesseeesseasseeaeeeeas 35 Measurement of Respirable Dust ce eeeeeesssseeseesceseescescesesseccseseseseceeceeeseceeseeeseeeeceeceesaeseeseesesreerentents 38 Measurement of Ultrafine Particulates oo cess eeseesceeeseeeeseescscescseescseescseeseeecseeesseeacseescsesscsesacesseeseeeeas 41 Measurement of Total Dust Concentration ssseseseseesseseseseseseersrsrsrsrststtsesesseststsrststtnesetststststsrerererererste 44 Measurement of Volatile Organic Compounds ssssssssssssesssseseststsesersrteesssseseseseseseseenenstsesesesesesesesereesese 46 Measurement of Ozone Concentration oo ee eeseeesseseeeesesseseescseescseescseescseeseeesseeecseeseseeseeessesesseeasseeseseeas 49 Meastirement of Noise bevel o6 c o Ge tsa oe eta Gad Wanda nei dase ene awk 52 Limitations of the Methodology ccccccescssessesesseseseeseseeseseeseseeseeeseceseeseseeseseseeseseeseseeaeeeseeeseeeeseneeseeseeeeas 53 Chapter 6 Anal
63. ly In addition if too high relative humidity can facilitate the growth of dust mites and molds ASHRAE 2007 Kodak has equipped the NexPress with an Environmental Control System that exerts negative pressure to the air outside the machine and conditions it to optimal operating levels throughout the printing cycle inside the press The results indicated that the normal operation of the NexPress has no impact on temperature or relative humidity levels of its surroundings Respirable dust levels were found in very low concentrations at the operator s breathing zone the average being 500 times lower than the OSHA PEL and 300 times lower than the ACGIH maximum The concentration of respirable dust before during and after the NexPress was operated did not change significantly This means that the NexPress Contamination Control subassembly was successfully removing waste dry toner and other environmental contaminants from the printing process therefore the NexPress does not add significantly to air pollution at the scale of 2 5 micrometers in diameter the scale that corresponds to fine respirable dust There was evidence that the operation of the NexPress raises the concentration of ultrafine particulates in the operator s breathing zone but then again so does the operation of a nearby altogether different digital press the Kodak Digimaster 9110 To put the recorded ultrafine levels into perspective consider that the P Trak detected 18 00
64. meter This dosimeter like the north dosimeter was able to distinguish the moments when the press was idle between the long and short run This dosimeter detected in average a noise level of 68 25 dB 80 Evaluation of the Hypotheses and Comparison to the Kadam Results The author set out to prove or disprove the following three hypotheses which are the overlapping points of the Kadam study and the present study 2 Bs H 1 VOC emissions are higher in liquid ink digital printing and sheetfed offset lithography when they are compared separately to dry toner digital printing VOC emissions both in short and long runs Outcome No significant VOC emissions were associated with the operation of the NexPress 2500 in all instances Kadam detected as much as 30 ppm of VOCs Therefore Ho is true H 2 Respirable dust level emissions are higher in liquid ink digital printing and sheetfed offset lithography when they are compared separately to dry toner digital printing respirable dust emissions both in short and long runs Outcome Kadam detected concentrations just under 0 3 mg m in both processes whereas operation of the NexPress 2500 was associated with respirable dust levels of less than 0 052 mg m in all instances Therefore H 2 is true H 3 Eight hour time weighed average noise levels are higher in liquid ink digital printing when they are compared to dry toner digital printing levels in both runs Outcome Kadam re
65. mit Values TLV by ACGIH Table 4 OSHA PEL and ACGIH TLV for Noise Exposure Hours of Continuous OSHA TWA ACGIH Noise Exposure PEL dB TLV dB 8 00 90 85 4 00 95 88 2 00 100 91 1 00 105 94 0 50 110 97 0 25 115 100 Therefore according to Table 4 if the operator of a machine was exposed to 77 58 dB during eight continuous hours this TWA is below the OSHA PEL of 90 dB as well as below the ACGIH TLV of 85 dB This means that the machine used in this example whose noise levels were detected by means of five dosimeters is safe to operate by OSHA and ACGIH standards during eight continuous hours without ear protection Chapter 3 Review of Literature The Ascent of Digital Printing The printing industry is undergoing a pivotal change print volumes are slowly migrating from conventional offset lithographic printing to digital printing Lithographic printing however is likely to remain a viable technology in the long term for static long run jobs either as a stand alone technology or as a component of hybrid print production The most recent U S Economic Census data 2002 establishes that lithography is by far the most commonly used printing technology in the United States 15 620 out of 34 146 printing companies 45 are conventional whereas 1 131 out of 34 146 3 3 are strictly digital printing companies The popularity of digital technology is partially hindered by the small size and li
66. mited investment capital available to many printing companies Therefore conversion from conventional to digital print technologies may be economically difficult Romano 2001 In the past printing was all about mass customization and because the economics of the process required longer runs it was necessary to try to reach a mass audience Romano 2001 The new trend however is that run lengths are getting shorter The new digital technologies will increasingly allow marketers to tailor their messages to ever 10 smaller consumer niches Print runs of 2 000 and under accounted for 28 of all volume in 1998 and Romano predicts that they will represent 47 in 2020 a remarkable growth With the advancement and proliferation of digital technologies the printing industry is looking forward to digital printing as a way to solve some significant technical and regulatory problems that are currently associated with traditional printing methods M A Evans personal communication 2005 However issues surrounding the environment and workplace health and safety do not disappear just because a printing company is using digital technologies rather than conventional printing processes Moreover digital technology has its own drawbacks that restrict its use for certain circumstances such as long print runs for which conventional technologies are more cost effective According to Evans if printers want to continue to evolve and succeed it is e
67. n for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality the American Society of Heating Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers ASHRAE provides the ventilation guideline of 700 parts per million ppm of CO2 above background as a measure of the quality of the indoor air If this guideline is followed odors and other indoor air contaminants should also be acceptable J Heyer personal communication 2007 OSHA on the other hand provides a permissible exposure level of 5 000 ppm in Table Z 1 of Standard 29CFR1910 1000 OSHA represents the U S government and ASHRAE represents the private sector Background levels were 490 ppm in the preliminary and 458 ppm in the experiment run CO levels were below 600 ppm in both runs almost one order of magnitude lower than the OSHA PEL of 5 000 ppm and less than half of the ASHRAE limit To put these values in perspective normal outdoor concentrations of CO range from 250 ppm to 350 ppm The cycles in both curves approximately every six minutes in Figure 13A and every eight minutes in Figure 13B can be explained by the fact that the intake of the Q Trak and the intake of the ozone analyzer were located side by side in the operator s breathing zone Every time the author approached the analyzer to record its readings manually every six minutes in the preliminary runs and every eight minutes in the experiment runs the air exhaled by the author would trigger these spikes The larger spikes correspond to moments
68. nal communication 2007 Logarithmic scales are useful when the data covers a large range of values as is the case with the hearing sense A logarithmic response helps compress this wide range so that our response to variations in weak sounds is similar to that in loud sounds Robertson 2007 Logarithmic scales do not operate the same way as linear scales For example the combined noise emitted by two identical and constant 70 decibel dB sources is not 140 dB but is instead 73 dB In order to make such calculations industrial hygienists use one of two methods the Rule of Thumb Method and the Calculation Method as explained by Stewart 1999 and Berger 1986 respectively The Rule of Thumb Method is preferable when five or less dosimeters are involved and it is favored by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists ACGIH The Calculation Method is used by OSHA in all cases and it is preferable if more than five dosimeters are involved J Schneider personal communication 2007 Consider the average noise levels detected by five different dosimeters arranged in ascending order 68 25 68 58 70 48 70 68 and 71 97 dB After arranging them in this manner the Rule of Thumb Method can be used to calculate their combined noise effect The principles involved in this method are seen in Table 2 Table 2 The Principles of the Rule of Thumb Method Difference in Decibels Between Consecutive Number of De
69. ng an optical chamber the other pathway leads directly to its own optical chamber The optical chambers have an ultraviolet UV light source and a detector UV light passes through 49 the sample and the detector measures the amount of transmitted light The clean sample is used to correct for other gases and contaminants in the air that may reduce this transmission of light The amount of light detected is inversely proportional to the concentration of ozone The calibration process involves connecting the ozone analyzer with a primary standard certified by the National Institute of Standards and Technology NIST and seen at the right of Figure 11 According to Wight 1994 a primary standard is a standard meter known to be correct or more precise and accurate than the ozone measuring device and it typically has a resolution of 0 3 The following set of instructions was used to confirm the accuracy of the ozone analyzer against the primary standard according to its User Manual 1990 1 The primary standard should be connected to an exhaust system to capture and treat the ozone generated 2 Connect the ozone analyzer to a three way valve in the exhaust system 3 Turn the ozone analyzer on and then turn the primary standard on 4 Set the ozone analyzer to a flowrate of two liters per minute using the dial on the front of the ozone analyzer 5 Set the primary standard to generate 100 parts per billion ppb of ozone u
70. o scale sketch of the Demo room on the day the experiment run was executed x Paper Cutter KODAK NEXPRESS 2500 In line Booklet Maker Glosser 7 n Kodak Digimaster FRONT END OPERATOR STATION L Inkjet Printer Figure 22 Sketch of Kodak s Manitou Demo Room Figure 22 shows how other digital printing devices and peripheral machines were distributed around the NexPress Operating any of these electrical devices will raise the ozone levels in the room just as it occurred during the experiment run Figure 21B when compared to the preliminary run Figure 21A 73 Noise Levels Average noise levels detected by the four stationary dosimeters are shown in Figure 23 Be ee eee AVG 68 58 dB OSHA PEL 90 dB 7 O SES EIGHT HOURTWA NORTH A KODAK ap ae co NEXPRESS 2500 4 0 AVG 68 25 dB AVG 70 48 dB WEST EAST 4 0 In line 8 0 Booklet 7 Maker Q N AVG 70 68 dB FRONT END OPERATOR STATION SOUTH Figure 23 Not to scale Sketch of the Distribution of the Stationary Noise Dosimeters The noise level samples taken during the experiment run are representative of those that occur during any given continuous eight hour workday Kodak scientists and NexPress operators validated this crucial assumption which allows comparison of 74 average noise values measured with the OSHA PEL of 90 dB as time weighted average TWA of eight hours This TWA
71. of Dust Particulates mg m z w 0 r gt 13 12 00 13 40 48 14 09 36 14 38 24 15 07 12 15 36 00 16 04 48 16 33 36 17 02 24 Time of Day hh mm ss Figure 16 Respirable Dust Concentrations Detected During the Preliminary A and Experiment B Runs 62 The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists ACGIH is an independent organization that advances occupational and environmental health ACGIH is to respirable dust what ASHRAE is to ventilation ACGIH recommends a maximum respirable dust concentration of three mg m ACGIH 2000 which is well above any observed level Neither the first nor the second spike in Figure 16A nor any measurement seen in Figure 16B exceeded the OSHA PEL of five mg m according to Table Z 1 of Standard 29CFR1910 1000 In fact even the 0 052 mg m spike the first spike in Figure 16A is 96 times smaller than the OSHA PEL This spike has been deemed an unexplained anomaly The reader may recall from the Methodology section that the order of the short and long print runs was inverted in the preliminary and experiment runs one of the reasons for this change was to see if this particular spike was somehow associated with the long print run However the event did not repeat itself during the experiment run therefore this event has been dismissed as an anomaly Another factor that suggested an anomaly is that this data point was neither preceded nor followed by a similar concent
72. ompound emissions and noise peak levels it can be concluded that the environmental footprint of the NexPress 2500 is smaller than that of the Heidelberg Speedmaster 74 and the HP Indigo 3000 83 Chapter 7 Conclusions Summary The experiments conducted on two different Kodak NexPress 2500 digital production color presses yielded favorable air quality and noise level results on all aspects under observation Carbon dioxide levels during normal operation of the NexPress 2500 reached concentrations that are a mere 11 of OSHA permissible exposure levels and 47 of the ASHRAE recommended maximum There was no evidence to suggest that the operation of the NexPress had any effect on the CO3 concentration levels A second conclusion is that both rooms where the NexPress 2500s have been installed are adequately ventilated since it is generally understood that elevated COz levels are an indicator that an indoor environment is poorly ventilated Relative humidity and temperature at the operator station are within the Nexpress operating parameters although relative humidity was low in the room where the preliminary run was conducted If the operator manifests no discomfort and the press performs flawlessly then there is no need to install industrial air humidifiers in the room 84 Relative humidity has an impact on operator comfort is a potential cause of paper jams and has to be within a specific range for the NexPress to operate proper
73. or 30 seconds checking that the zero reading is stable If a stable zero is not reached turn the P Trak off remove the zero filter assembly and repeat steps 1 4 Remove the zero filter assembly The following procedure was used to take measurements l 2 Insert the inlet screen assembly into the inlet located on the front Unscrew the storage cap from the front of the P Trak Remove the alcohol cartridge from the alcohol container Gently shake the alcohol cartridge in order to drain excess alcohol on the cartridge back into the alcohol container 42 5 Insert the alcohol cartridge into the front of the P Trak locking it into place with a 45 degree turn 6 Seal the alcohol container with the storage cap from step 2 7 Confirm the zero point of the P Trak see the preceding procedure 8 At the main menu use the down arrow key to highlight the Log Mode option 9 Use the left and right arrow keys until Log Mode 1 is displayed then press the Enter key 10 At the end of the sampling period turn the P Trak off 11 Unscrew the alcohol cartridge from the P Trak 12 Screw the alcohol cartridge into the alcohol container 13 Screw the storage cap into the front of the P Trak The P Trak logged the number of ultrafine particulates per cubic centimeter These concentrations were plotted in the y axis of a line graph where the x axis represented the time of day in hours minutes and seconds This allowed vi
74. ory and cardiac diseases Orr 2005 The second emission cited by the Aerias website 2006 are volatile organic compounds VOCs Many of these compounds are irritants that can cause headaches and long term health effects of exposure to them include damage to the heart liver the central nervous system as well as cancers Some of these compounds are flammable and even toxic at high concentrations The third emission cited by Aerias 2006 ozone is a highly reactive gas that is formed when air is ionized In some digital printing processes ozone is formed when a high voltage is applied to a corona wire before creating the image Zirilli 2006 Aside from being a strong lung irritant ozone s reactive nature makes it prone to deterioration ri 16 and damage of printer components causing a printer reliability problem As a result ozone needs to be collected at the source and converted back to oxygen Introduction to Indoor Air Quality and Applicable Regulations in the U S According to the U S Occupational Safety and Health Administration OSHA website 2006 the printing industry can be separated into four main segments lithography flexography gravure and screen printing and they must comply with all the general industry standards 29CFR1910 OSHA cites eight specific standards for lithography one for flexography one for gravure and three for screen printing but as of early 2007 there are no Federal standards for the di
75. panies must stay one step ahead of the regulators The problem is that some printing processes are newer than others As a consequence there are processes whose environmental impact is better documented than others digital printing is one such case of little publicly available information Since it is closely tied to ever evolving computer hardware and software and because not all applications are well suited to this technology the printing industry is beginning to understand the environmental impact of this process This study was an effort to address some of these environmental issues as they manifest themselves in the dry ink electrophotographic printing technology used in the Kodak NexPress 2500 Digital Production Color Press Significance of the Topic Awareness of environmental and occupational exposure issues plays an important role in the selection of environmentally friendly technology This topic was worthy of scholarly study because literature dealing with the environmental footprint of digital printing technologies is scant Digital printing devices have the potential to release dust volatile organic compounds and ozone during their operation These emissions must be kept as low as possible in order to maintain good indoor air quality conditions and to protect the health of building occupants and employees Gullison 2006 Occupational noise exposure is another issue that all industries must address under the watchful eye of the
76. quid ink digital printing when they are compared to dry toner digital printing levels in short and long print runs 30 Chapter 5 Methodology A similar methodology to the one used by Kadam 2004 was deployed There are several differences however between the two projects Kadam does not include analysis of carbon dioxide relative humidity room temperature ultrafine particulates and ozone With the NexPress 2500 digital production color press selected as the primary resource of the study raw materials were selected and the length of the print runs was determined Following Kadam s example 30 minutes was chosen as the length of the short run and two hours as the length of the long run Three Kodak scientists and two NexPress operators validated these run lengths Two types of print runs were executed preliminary and experiment The purpose of the preliminary runs was to become familiar with the measuring devices and their data logging procedures these techniques had been learned by the time the experiment runs took place In all instances a trained professional downloaded the data after the print runs from each of the instruments to a personal computer using the software provided with each device Another significant difference between the preliminary and the experiment runs was that the order of the print runs short and long was inverted This was done to see if 31 an apparent anomaly and some periodic events that were
77. r presses were used one on the preliminary run and the other on the experiment run They were located in different rooms of the Kodak Manitou facility in Gates New York The fuser fluid the five dry toners cyan magenta yellow black and clear and the five corresponding developers were the standard consumables that Kodak sells for use with this particular digital press Choice of the Paper The paper used was the Navajo Text manufactured by Mohawk its weight is 118 grams per square meter it was trimmed down to 12 inches long by 18 inches wide and its grain was located along the latter side The paper was chosen because according to Manitou NexPress operators it is readily available to NexPress customers in the U S has good curl resistance allows excellent image contrast and has been qualified approved by Kodak to run on the NexPress 2500 33 Choice of the Print Target Figure 5 is a screenshot of the image that was printed on both sides of the paper Tech Alert 2003 NexPress 2100 digital production color press gt T E a op 5 Sb z v p B gt 2 S Q E oe Figure 5 Screenshot of the Digital File GATF Sample tagged _baby pdf Source Kodak 2006 This file was printed on both sides of the paper in order to maximize printer emissions and it was chosen because it is similar to the file used by Kodak Manitou NexPress operators to test general colo
78. r production performance variables such as overprints shadow detail highlights skin tones memory colors the four process colors vignettes grayscales and fine line targets for evaluation of resolution 34 Measurement of Ventilation Parameters Carbon dioxide CO2 relative humidity and room temperature were measured using the 8554 Q Trak Indoor Air Quality Monitor seen in Figure 6 The Q Trak was placed in the operator station in all print runs Figure 6 The Q Trak Indoor Air Quality Monitor and Its Probe far right The Q Trak uses a Non Dispersive Infrared Absorbance NDIR sensor to monitor CO2 It has a range of zero to 5 000 parts per million ppm an accuracy of 3 of reading at 77 F and a resolution of one ppm The principle behind the NDIR is that most molecules can absorb infrared light causing them to bend stretch or twist The amount of infrared light absorbed is proportional to the concentration of the molecules CO has a strong absorbance at 4 26 micrometers as seen in its infrared spectrum this absorbance band is specific to this molecule Given a fixed sensor cavity depth 35 measuring the light intensity before and after the sample allows a measurement of the concentration According to the Q Trak Operation and Service Manual 2006 the gas sample diffuses into the cavity through a metal frit on the top of the instrument Polychromatic light from an incandescent bulb passes through the gas sampl
79. ransport which carries it to the five imaging units top center of Figure 3 and color toner separations are transferred to the media sequentially in registration 3 The media are then passed on to the fuser and cooler units which use media dependent fusing technology 4 Ifthe image is printed on only one side of the media it can be delivered to either a proof tray or a main delivery unit top left of Figure 3 For two sided printing the media is passed to a perfecting unit at full speed 26 Ng 2003 uses Figure 4 to explain how the toner transfer process step 2 of the previous list takes place in each imaging module The paper transfer nip is shown as an inset on the right side of Figure 4 o o Noo A Imaging Cylinder n Blanket JF Cylinder ON Transport Web Discharge Brush Paper Transfer Roller Figure 4 Schematic of the NexPress Imaging Module Source Ng 2003 According to Ng 2003 the blanket cylinder BC is driven by an insulating endless web which is backed by a roller that defines the transfer geometry in this nip Dry toner is electrostatically transferred from the imaging cylinder IC to the BC with a constant voltage supplied to the core of the BC The electrostatic transfer force is maintained in the nip by a constant current supplied to the core of the paper transfer roller that charges the backside of the web and induces a polar charge on top of the media as it
80. ration level This data point stands alone in the middle of an otherwise consistent curve The second spike in Figure 16A occurred approximately one hour and twenty minutes into the preliminary run and corresponds to the moment when the DustTrak was tested by spraying its air intake with compressed air the type used to clean computers This stirred the air around the intake and caused a sharp increase in the concentration of particulates smaller than 2 5 micrometers 63 The unexplained anomaly is different from the second spike in that the former disappears as fast as it appeared whereas the latter decreases slowly as expected from an event that is not an anomaly The small spikes or cycles seen in both graphs are within the resolution of this instrument 0 001 mg m Nothing in the recorded data indicates that under normal operating conditions the NexPress 2500 has any impact in the concentration of respirable dust particulates smaller than 2 5 micrometers 64 Figure 17 shows the ultrafine particulate concentrations detected by the P Trak P Trak Preliminary Run 30000 5 25000 4 20000 1 1 PRESS SHORT PRESS LONG RUN ISIDLE RUN IS IDLE 15000 10000 5000 Number of Ultrafine Particulates per Cubic Centimeter o a r u r r F f 13 12 00 13 40 48 14 09 36 14 38 24 15 07 12 15 36 00 16 04 48 16 33 36 17 02 24 Time of Day hh mm ss P Trak
81. rison of Environmental and Occupational Aspects Studied by Kadam in 2004 and by Leal in 2007 EHS Aspect Analyzed Kadam Leal Carbon Dioxide Concentrations NO YES Relative Humidity Levels NO YES Temperature Levels NO YES Respirable Dust Concentrations YES YES Ultrafine Particulate Concentrations NO YES Total Dust Concentrations YES YES Volatile Organic Compound Concentrations YES YES Ozone NO YES Noise Level Survey YES YES Material Utilization YES NO The following is a summary of the Kadam findings that are relevant to this study Total dust concentrations are slightly higher in the digital printer than in offset lithography however all are well below PEL Respirable dust concentrations are similar in both processes and below PEL VOC emissions from both presses are below regulatory standards VOC emissions in the digital press increase proportionally with print volume VOC emissions in offset lithography do not increase significantly with an increase in print volume Occupational noise exposure is well below OSHA PEL in both processes 23 A mass balance experiment was involved in the Kadam thesis for the purpose of calculating Material Utilization see the last row of Table 5 The author chose not to conduct this experiment because Hewlett Packard the manufacturer of the Indigo 3000 raised numerous objections to the Kadam mass balance methodology and results M A Evans personal
82. s not totally dry as it arrives to the delivery pile Therefore to avoid smearing of the printed images and to prevent the sheets from getting stuck together in the pile by the ink a powder is applied to the printed sheets before they reach the delivery pile This powder paper debris and undefined aerosols in the printing room were the sources of respirable and total dusts that Kadam detected in this process The moving parts inside the Speedmaster were the source of the noise levels that Kadam recorded Figure 2 is a simplified cross section view of the imaging unit that is involved in the wet ink electrophotographic process B Waltz personal communication 2007 of the HP Indigo 3000 whose emissions and noise levels Kadam studied D Binary Ink Developement stepper motor drives process Ink Outlet Figure 2 The Wet Ink Electrophotographic Process on the HP Indigo 3000 Source Printing Applications Laboratory Rochester Institute of Technology 2007 21 The green circle in Figure 2 represents the Photo imaging Plate PIP which is electrically charged by the three Scorotrons on top of it to minus 900 volts The writing head top of Figure 2 has 12 fine laser beams that change the voltage of the PIP from minus 900 volts to minus 50 volts only at the places where the wet ink will be adhered The Binary Ink Developer BID at the lower left of Figure 2 is charged to minus 450 volts As the PIP rotates counterclockwise the wet ink
83. sed January 18 2007 94 Romano F 2001 Digital Basics Mohawk Digital Papers Cohoes New York Skoner D P et al 1990 Laser printer rhinitis New England Journal of Medicine 322 18 1323 Stewart J et al 1999 Industrial Occupational Hygiene Calculations A Professional Reference Millennium Publishing The Foxboro Company 1996 TVA 1000B Toxic Vapor Analyzer Operation Configuration and Maintenance Massachusetts USA Tran T UCLA USC Study Finds Damage to Human Cells that Exposed to Air Pollution UCLA Newsroom April 10 2003 1 pp Online Available http www newsroom ucla edu page asp menu fullsearchresults amp id 4115 Accessed February 11 2006 TSI Incorporated 2006 Model 8552 8554 O Trak Plus IAQ Monitor Operation and Service Manual Minnesota USA TSI Incorporated 2006 Model 8520 DustTrak Aerosol Monitor Operation and Service Manual Minnesota USA TSI Incorporated 2006 Model 8525 P Trak Ultrafine Particulate Counter Operation and Service Manual Minnesota USA Unknown Authors Aerias AOS IAQ Resource Center Website http www aerias org DesktopDefault aspx Accessed June 27 2006 through February 2007 Unknown Authors U S Census Bureau Website http www census gov econ census02 data industry E323 115 HTM Accessed June 26 2006 Unknown Authors U S Environmental Protection Agency EPA Website http epa gov Accessed June 26 2006 through February 2007 Unkno
84. sing the up and down arrows located on its front 6 Allow the devices to equilibrate for 15 minutes 7 Confirm that the readings on the ozone analyzer are within 5 ppb of the primary standard 50 8 Turn the primary standard off and then allow the exhaust system 15 minutes to remove any remaining ozone Turn off and remove the ozone analyzer The following procedure was used to take measurements according to the Ozone Analyzer s User Manual 1990 1 Connect the inlet and outlet tubing to the ozone analyzer located on the back of the machine 2 Place the other ends of the tubing in the area of interest 3 Turn the ozone analyzer on 4 Adjust the flowrate to two liters per minute using the knob on the front of the ozone analyzer 5 Allow the instrument to settle for 15 minutes 6 When sampling begins record the displayed value on the ozone analyzer manually The instrument is not designed to log data for the user The UV Photometric Ozone Analyzer displayed did not log the concentration of ozone in parts per million which were then converted to parts per billion These concentrations were plotted in the y axis of a line graph where the x axis represented the time of day in hours minutes and seconds This allowed visual comparison of the ozone concentrations to the OSHA PEL 51 Measurement of Noise Level Noise levels were measured using CK110 doseBadge Noise Dosimeters and a Reader Unit all seen in Fi
85. ssential for them to know and to understand how digital printing compares to traditional printing technologies in terms of its environmental health and safety impacts The Printing Industry s Environmental Health and Safety Impacts Conventional Printing Technologies Twenty years ago the typical printing plant was not a pleasant place to visit fumes from ink and press cleaning materials were heavy in the air and one had to shout to be heard above the noise of the printing presses Bloom 1999 The industry has limitations in meeting environmental goals at reasonable costs When these limits are 11 reached new technologies have to be developed before further progress can be made According to Bloom 1999 it appears that the printing industry is approaching that threshold now and we are likely to see even more change in the future as the industry struggles to balance profitability with environmental concerns Printing companies often find it difficult to determine their impact on the environment Envirowise 2004 which is for the most part related to the handling of solvents and other chemicals emissions to the atmosphere effluent from the washing down process make ready and other substrate waste Envirowise does not address digital printing Increasingly companies need to demonstrate that they have good environmental credentials Ferris 1995 however said that environmental marketing can have unintended negative
86. sual comparison of the results from the preliminary and experiment runs 43 Measurement of Total Dust Concentration Total dust was measured using four MSA International ESCORT ELF air pumps and the air cassettes that are provided with them The pump draws air through a cassette containing two filters that are pre weighed and identical in mass Air was allowed to pass through one filter and all particulates larger than five micrometers were retained When the experiment was complete the filters were weighed in a laboratory to determine the mass of dust captured The second filter was not allowed to accumulate any dust but also was weighed to adjust for absorption of water vapor from the environment The ESCORT ELF air pumps and the air filters are seen in Figure 9 Figure 9 ESCORT ELF Air Pump and Air Cassettes Four pumps and their corresponding cassettes were placed four feet around the NexPress using a North South East West configuration in all print runs The device was calibrated according to its Instruction Manual 1997 1 Insert the outlet of the cassette into the inlet tubing of the pump 2 Attach the inlet of the cassette to a flowmeter 44 3 4 X Turn the flowmeter on Turn the pump on and adjust its flow rate until the flowmeter reads 2 1 m Repeat steps 1 4 until two consecutive results are within 2 of each other The following procedure was followed in order to take measurements l 2 Att
87. t Collected During the Preliminary A and Experiment B Runs 67 The author divided these less than milligram values by the volume of the room in cubic meters in which each print run A and B took place Figure 19 shows how this calculation was done LENGTH OF ROOM 27 feet 8 23 meters A WIDTH OF ROOM 32 feet 9 76 meters HEIGHT OF ROOM 141 5 inches 3 59 meters VOLUME OF ROOM 288 64 m LENGTH OF ROOM 54 feet 16 46 meters WIDTH OF ROOM 100 feet 30 49 meters HEIGHT OF ROOM 141 5 inches 3 59 meters VOLUME OF ROOM 1 804 m MASS OF DUST PARTICLES COLLECTED IN ANY AND ALL AIR FILTERS lt 0 05 mg MASS OF DUST PARTICLES COLLECTED IN ANY AND ALL AIR FILTERS lt 0 05 mg CONCENTRATION OF lt TOTAL DUST 0 000173 mg m CONCENTRATION OF lt 0 0000277 mg m TOTAL DUST Figure 19 Calculation of the Concentration of Total Dust During the Preliminary A and Experiment B Runs As seen in Figure 18 the four filters analyzed for either run by Galson Laboratories had a mass of less than 0 05 milligrams mg Dividing this number by the volume of the room calculated in Figure 19 gives a concentration of less than 0 000173 mg m in the case of the preliminary run and less than 0 0000277 mg m during the experiment run in the much larger Demo room Both concentrations are far below the
88. t ventilation in printing plants Journal of Occupational Health 47 6 540 7 Lodge J 1989 Methods of Air Sampling and Analysis Third Edition Lewis Publishers Inc Michigan USA McMahon K J et al 1998 Occupational noise exposure in the printing industry American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal 49 1 34 37 MSA International 1997 Escort ELF Pump Instruction Manual Pennsylvania USA NexPress Solutions LLC 2006 NexPress 2500 Operations Manual Available online exclusively to customers of Kodak NexPress New York USA NoiseMeters Limited 2006 How to Use the doseBadge Manual Texas USA Ng Y et al 2003 Advances in NexPress Production Digital Printing Technologies Electronic correspondence with Mr Cavan A Kelsey Business Director Health Safety and Environment Graphic Communications Group Received January 15 2006 Orr L Scientists Probe Air Pollution Heart Disease Link University of Rochester Medical Center News Archives December 12 2005 1 pp Online Available at http www urmce rochester edu pr news story cfm id 962 Accessed February 11 2006 Petersen D 1991 A delicate balance American Printer 207 5 26 Petersen D 1992 Web offset don t blow your sack American Printer 209 2 32 35 Robertson W 2007 Combining Decibel Quantities Middle Tennessee State University January 2007 4 pp Online Available http physics mtsu edu winr log 4 htm Acces
89. to meet the ACGIH limit and 45 persons to exceed the OSHA PEL for CO3 e Respirable Dust assuming that all the detected respirable dust concentrations can be assigned to the NexPress the smallest room in which the press could be installed without exceeding the ACGIH TLV would have to be about five cubic meters and exactly three cubic meters in order to exceed the OSHA PEL for respirable dust None of these scenarios are possible because the press itself has a volume of 21 m e Total Dust assuming that all the detected total dust concentrations can be assigned to the NexPress the smallest room in which the press could be installed without exceeding the ACGIH TLV would have to be 0 005 cubic meters smaller than a shoe box and 0 003 cubic meters about the size of a six pack of beer in order to exceed the OSHA PEL for total dust 89 Volatile Organic Compounds assuming that the 5 99 ppm of VOCs detected was not instrument noise and further assuming that this VOC is the same that Kadam detected and for which the OSHA PEL is 100 ppm it would take a room that is 17 m just under the volume of the press to exceed this limit Ozone assuming that all the detected ozone concentrations can be assigned exclusively to the NexPress the smallest room in which the press could be installed without exceeding OSHA and ACGIH limits would have to be 23 m just over the actual size of the press but still much too small Noise using
90. und the NexPress 75 Figure 25 NexPress Operator s Noise Exposure Levels During the Experiment Run 76 Figure 26 Noise Levels Detected at the Operator Station During the Experiment Run 77 Figure 27 Noise Levels Detected East of the Press icii yiasceauvsavinnvetansteeesy tevin 78 Figure 28 Noise Levels Detected North of the Press eccceesscceesseeeeseeeseeeeeeeeeeeaees 79 Figure 29 Noise Levels Detected West of the Press 0 eccceesseeesseeeeeseeeeeseeeseaeeeeeaees 80 List of Equations Equation 1 Formula Used in the Calculation Method ceeescceesseeceeneeeeeneeeeeneeeeeneeees Equation 2 Application of the Calculation Method Formula ceesceeseseeeeeteeeeneeees xl Abstract The printing industry is beginning to get acquainted with the environmental impact of digital printing technologies This study addressed issues related to the electrophotographic dry toner printing technology used in the Kodak NexPress 2500 Digital Production Color Press The importance of these topics will grow as high speed variable data printing becomes pervasive because these printed products will become widespread and a greater number of operators will be exposed to these technologies Indoor air quality and noise levels generated by the NexPress under normal operating conditions were studied ventilation dust volatile organic compounds ozone and noise The results of this study were then
91. wn Authors Envirowise Website http www envirowise gov uk Accessed June 26 2006 through February 2007 Unknown Authors Occupational Safety and Health Administration OSHA Website http osha gov Accessed June 26 2006 through February 2007 99 Unknown Authors Occupational Exposure to Hexavalent Chromium OSHA Website http www osha gov pls oshaweb owadisp show_document p_table FEDERAL REGISTER amp p_id 18599 Accessed February 11 2006 Unknown Authors Wikipedia Website Available online at http wikipedia org Accessed June 26 2006 through February 2007 U S Department of Health and Human Services Public Health Service Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 1997 NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards J J Keller amp Associates Wisconsin USA Wadden R et al 1995 Determination of VOC emission rates and compositions for offset printing Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association 45 7 547 55 Wight G D 1994 Fundamentals of Air Sampling CRC Press LLC Florida USA Wolkoff P et al 1993 Comparison of volatile organic compounds from processed paper and toners from office copiers and printers Indoor Air 3 113 123 Zirilli F 2006 Clean Printing Through CFD Desktop Engineering Website http www deskeng com Articles Applications Clean Printing Through CFD 20050201301 html Accessed September 15 2006 96
92. x orders of magnitude lower during the experiment run This means that the factory installed Contamination Control system filters much of the toner developer and paper debris that escape the printing process and does not allow it to go outside of the press Neither the NexPress 2500 nor its peripherals are a significant source of volatile organic compounds This was expected because none of the Material Safety Data Sheets associated with the NexPress mention organic volatiles In the NexPress there are no 86 solvents involved in the process and any fuser oil vapor is collected and vented though filters prior to being exhausted to the outside In conclusion under normal operating conditions the NexPress operators will not exceed any recommended VOC exposure guideline As part of its Environmental Control System the NexPress 2500 is equipped with activated charcoal ozone filters that according to the analysis of the recorded data have an efficiency of 89 in the worst case how this number was calculated is explained in the ozone Results subsection The remaining ozone that was detected outside the press was only 4 of the EPA permissible exposure limit This scenario however assumes that none of the other equipment operating simultaneously in the same room as the NexPress emits ozone This is highly unlikely because these machines have similar ozone generating components to those of the NexPress such as electric motors Therefore the
93. ysis of Experimental Results oiccn ahaiie rian scans anion 54 Carbon Dioxide Relative Humidity and Temperature 0 0 0 0 ee eecesseesceseeseeseeseeseeseesceseeseeseeaeeeseeeeeeeeeees 55 Respirable Dust Ultrafine Particulates and Total Dust ee ceeecseeeeseeeeseeeeseeseseeseseeseecseessesseseees 62 Volatile Organic COMPOUNdS sei esscessesceresnsesnenseazenness esewutes e Ee EEEE EEEE E E E eR 69 OZOME EMISSIONS yeee nieee E E REE EE EAE E E EAE EE EEEE Oa EE ERE EEE EE EEE E EEE EE EEEE E E ER E E EE 71 NOISE E A EET 74 Evaluation of the Hypotheses and Comparison to the Kadam Results ssssseesseeeeseeessesrsseersresrssesrsresreses 81 MADRE A OMCIUSION ENEE A E A EE E eae oe ee ee 84 ASI IC71 0312 AEEA AE EEEE EEE EE EE CHER CECCHETTI CT 84 Implications of the Findings i 50 hdigadheadinndagadanadagnkauadauanagadnuauAgedananhe 89 Agenda for Further Research pansgsgsnanopinnnnno an aa E iain wavalnnn nau auadadanant 90 Bibhography osrin inii oi na r Gut ade E AEE NE ATE da Veda nants 92 vii List of Tables Table 1 Glossary of Frequently Used Terms ssi cvinventtritiiecie cienin hace teria 3 Table 2 The Principles of the Rule of Thumb Method cc eeceeesceeeseteeeeeteeeesneeeeeneeees 6 Table 3 Sample Application of the Rule of Thumb Method cee eeeseeeeneeeeeneeeeeneeees 7 Table 4 OSHA PEL and ACGIH TLV for Noise Exposure c cccccessccceeesteeeeeeetteeeeees 8 Table 5 Comparison of Environmental

i Potential Air Contaminants and Noise Levels Generated by the

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