Tuolene is common in printing businesses

Printing is a a major employer complete with its own set of chemical hazards.

Printers employ approximately one million people in the U.S., well ahead of the entire automotive industry, with about 850,000 employees.

Although most printing companies are small and pose no threat to their local environment, considered in its entirety, the printing industry does spew forth large quantities of toxic air emissions as well as solid and chemical waste products.

The most dangerous chemical used in printing is the solvent toluene. The chemical is a component of ink and is often used to clean grease from printing equipment. Although research does not show a clear cause-effect relationship between exposure to toluene and cancer, the substance is considered a possible cause of cancer.

The good news about toluene is that the body quickly eliminates it, and most people recover completely from exposure.

Still, to avoid possible harmful effects, most printers today are turning to water-based inks or the use of other solvents that do not have the health risk that toluene seems to carry to workers.

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