Imaging Devices, Sustainable Design and Indoor Air Quality

Abstract

Manufacturers today must design products to meet global sustainability requirements that include human healthy and indoor air quality standards. Acceptable indoor environmental quality is a necessary requirement for today's office buildings, schools, public facilities, and personal residences. On a global basis, indoor air quality is one of the top three environmental issues facing all countries and all people. Toxic chemicals, inorganic gases, and particles that are released by products into the indoor environment can contribute to human irritation, discomfort, and long term health consequences to those exposed. These human effects can lead to excessive medical costs, loss of productivity, and undesirable litigation. Imaging devices are known contributors of certain indoor contaminants such as respirable particles, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) including styrene and formaldehyde, and ozone. Sources of these include electronic and heating processes, inks and toners, papers and transparencies, plastics, and cleaning solvents. Manufacturers are proactively designing for the environment, including indoor air quality as an important part of their product stewardship, and eco-criteria are available for acceptable levels of airborne contaminants released by operating equipment. This paper will review current international programs addressing allowable emissions from imaging devices (including Blue Angel, Greenguard, and the State of California), test procedures, and representative emissions data from print devices.Eco-criteria are based on the performance of operating office equipment and acceptable contributions of certain contaminants. Acceptable emission levels of reparable particles, formaldehyde, styrene, benzene, and other VOCs are based on existing health and safety data with some consideration for protecting sensitive people from irritants and odorants. The primary measurement technique, environmental chamber technology, has been validated to test products under realistic use conditions and to determine emission rates of contaminant release. These data can be used in building exposure models to predict and estimate potential human exposures, and to compare product data with prescribed eco-criteria. This measurement technology has been accepted on a global basis.