Health and safety issues with UV curing
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In the past decade, the use of UV-curable inks, coatings and adhesives in the printing industry has become very popular. However, people still have doubts about the safety of UV curing technology. People are worried that UV curing inks, coatings and adhesives will be as harmful to human health and safety as all chemicals. In fact, such fears are not necessary. In many cases, UV light-curing materials do not actually have this problem.
It is important to understand the link between UV-curable inks and health and safety so that we can properly treat and process UV-curable inks. The purpose of this paper is to identify health and safety issues associated with UV curing techniques and to compare them with related issues in traditional printed materials. Because there are many companies producing UV-curable inks, these companies have a say in their products. For specific products that involve specific health and safety issues, it is best to consult and understand the manufacturer.
In the print shop, there are three ways to get in touch with chemicals, namely ingestion, inhalation and skin contact. In general, UV-curable inks, UV coating materials, and UV adhesives contain very little food toxic substances. Of course, we do not recommend these substances into the mouth. However, bad health habits can cause these substances to enter the mouth unexpectedly. For example, if you don't wash your hands or wash your hands before eating, your hands will touch a lot of toxic substances into your mouth after touching food and drinks. Following the health habits below, it is easy to avoid this problem, whether it is a UV-curable ink or a traditional ink, be careful to avoid chemicals entering the mouth.
A major problem with traditional printed materials is that the chemical components contained in the chemical composition are volatile, volatile substances release gases, and workers in the printing shop inhale these toxic gases during breathing. The typical UV ink composition does not contain solvents and VOC (volatile) substances, so it has little impact on human health. The toxicity and chemical properties of several typical UV-curable materials and several solvents are compared in the table below. TMPTA is a trimethylol triacrylate which is the most used monomer in UV curable materials and electron beam (EB) curable materials. In many UV inks and EB cured materials, the copolymer used has a much larger molecular weight than the other copolymers. However, the copolymers listed in the table are chemically identical to many copolymers.
In addition to breathing and toxic substances in the UV-curable material from the mouth, the contact of the human skin with the material also affects the health of the human body, that is, skin allergies. After reading the above table, one might say that the effects of UV-curable materials and solvent-based substances on human skin are not much different. This is true in an idealized environment, such as laboratory testing. However, in actual working conditions, there are some differences. This is because the solvent-based substance is volatile, and the duration of contact of the human skin with the solvent substance is small in a general printing shop. The UV material is not volatile, and the contact between the human skin and the material lasts for a long time, and it will not end until it is washed. With such a long duration, in a realistic working environment, the effect of UV ink on the skin is greater than that of solvent-based materials on human skin.
The acrylate material is used in the UV material, and if the human skin comes into contact with it, it will also affect the health of the human body. In other words, if a person is not allergic to this substance, long-term exposure can lead to skin allergies and allergic reactions. Everyone's metabolism is different, so the health impact on everyone is different. It's best not to make jokes about your health, avoid contact with this substance whenever possible.
The UV lamp system is another safety issue involved in UV curing. The UV lamp system is an essential part of the UV curing technology. Unlike other electronic and thermal curings used in curing, UV light curing technology introduces intense UV light into print production. Fortunately, the amount of light that UV light reflects from the surface of the substrate is small. This means that if the printer is not exposed to UV light from a strong UV source or reflective surface, there is usually no need to worry about exposure to large amounts of UV energy. The reality is that visible light does not mean that there is a large amount of UV light. In general, the visible light escaping in a well-designed UV light system is minimal. Even if a large amount of light is escaped, it can be protected with a protective cover. Manufacturers of UV light systems know this common sense and use an instrument to check UV light, making it easy to determine if there is a problem.
Another health issue associated with UV lamps is the production of ozone. Short-wave UV light, which interacts with oxygen, produces ozone. Although there are “ozone-free” UV light systems on the market, the negative effects of photocuring continue to be apparent. After seeing negative results, not many people will continue to use this “ozone-free” UV lamp system. Many UV lamp system manufacturers have come up with a solution to the ozone problem, excreting the generated ozone from the workshop, and also achieving the purpose of cooling the UV lamp. Since ozone is an active chemical, the ozone excreted from the drain will be decomposed into oxygen.
Compared to conventional solvent-based and water-based inks, UV inks are superior to UV-curable materials in other environmental-related issues. In addition to volatile substances (VOC), UV-curable materials generally do not contain any chemical substances prohibited by Article 330 of the US Supercharge Amendment and Submission Treaty (SARA), nor do they contain hazardous gas pollutants ( HAP). As long as the UV material is not contaminated by contaminants, the UV curable material is generally not classified as a hazardous contaminant.
UV light curing technology has no negative impact on the environment, allowing the California South Coast Air Quality Management District to allow more UV light curing and EB curing printing companies to enter the Southern California coast. This initiative has received the attention of the EPA (Environmental Protection Association) and held a hearing in Congress. At the hearing, the EPA stated that in order to protect the environment, it is hoped that more and more printing companies will adopt UV and EB electronic curing technology.
The use of UV light curing technology often leads to a safer working environment. First, solvent-based inks are exiting the ranks of printed materials. Because solvent-based inks dry very slowly and the ink layer is thick and difficult to dry, more and more printing companies are withdrawing from the ranks of solvent-based inks. Printers who have access to traditional solvent-based inks nowadays tend to prefer UV-curing technology because the printing plates of UV inks are easier to handle. Of course, UV ink printing has also been used extensively on narrow web presses. On a wide-format rotary machine, the use of UV inks is also a trend and trend, as UV inks save working time.
Therefore, the use of UV light curing materials in the printing workshop is the trend. How do you establish a correct and safe operating concept for print producers exposed to UV-curable materials? The answer is simple: the chemicals that are handled and treated correctly in the pressroom. First of all, the most important thing is to read, understand and strictly follow the advice provided by the UV ink manufacturer. After reading and understanding, it is important to keep in mind that the health and safety issues involved in production can be solved. UV inks from different manufacturers are still somewhat different, and some products are safer than others. Because the most important concern in the use of UV inks is the contact of the skin with UV inks (breathing and entry from the mouth will not be a problem), the best way is to develop a regulation to avoid contact or minimize exposure to UV ink; whenever possible, try to Wear protective work clothes, gloves and glasses, or even a protective cover that protects the entire face. Also, if you accidentally touch UV ink while working, wash the exposed area with soap and water. Don't use solvent-based inks anymore because it's really good for your health!