Source: International Congress 2015 – Occupational and environmental cohort investigations and population studies
Disease area: Airway diseases

Abstract

Ultrafine particles (UFP) are emitted from laser printers in varying quantities during operation. However, their possible impact on human health is controversially discussed. We investigated effects of a 75-minute exposure of 52 volunteers to emissions from low emitting (LE) and high emitting (HE) laser printers.23 healthy subjects, 14 patients with light, stable asthma and 15 persons with self-reported symptoms associated with laser printer exposure were exposed to LE (~3,000 Particles/cm³; background with negligible LE contribution) and HE (~100,000 UFP/cm³) in a standardised, randomised, cross-over manner. Examinations before and after exposures included whole-body plethysmography (WBP), transfer factors for CO and NO (TLCO, TLNO), bronchial and alveolar NO, biomarkers in serum and nasal secretions (IL-1b, IL-5, IL-6, IL-8, GM-CSF, IFNg, TNFa) and symptom questionnaires.Overall, no significant changes were found for WBP measures and bronchial or alveolar NO. We observed a decrease in volume-related TLNO that was more pronounced in HE than LE (p<0.05 each), however, the difference was not significant. Serum ECP and IL-6 in nasal secretions were increased after both exposures (p<0.05 each). Functional and biochemical changes did not provide a coherent pattern regarding the participant subgroups. Reported symptoms were generally low and did not consistently indicate differential effects of HE and LE.Observed changes were low and do not suggest clinically relevant differential effects of HE and LE in terms of UFP/cm³ although we included subjects who might be regarded as particularly sensitive based on anamnesis or physiological considerations.Supported by the German Statutory Accident Insurance (FP294).


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Stefan Karrasch (Neuherberg, Germany), Stefan Karrasch, Rudolf A. Jörres, Myriam Ehret, Britta Herbig, Jeanette Langner, Stefan Seeger, Rudolf Schierl, Dennis Nowak. Respiratory effects of laser printer emissions: A controlled exposure study. Eur Respir J 2015; 46: Suppl. 59, 1174

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