Risks of 3D printing in consumer environments : Techniques, materials and products

alleen digitaal verschenenSteeds meer consumenten hebben thuis een 3D-printer staan. Ook kunnen consumenten producten laten printen bij gespecialiseerde bedrijven. Er worden vooral miniatuurfiguren en onderdelen van (technische) apparaten mee geprint, maar ook producten die in het dagelijks leven worden gebruikt, zoals telefoonhoesjes. Het RIVM heeft in opdracht van de Nederlandse Voedsel en Warenautoriteit (NVWA) onderzocht of er voor consumenten risico's kleven aan het gebruik van 3D-printers en de bijbehorende producten. Dat blijkt het geval te zijn, alleen is de omvang van het risico op basis van de beschikbare gegevens niet precies te duiden. Het risico is sterk afhankelijk van de mate waarin consumenten aan het materiaal of aan vrijgekomen stoffen worden blootgesteld. Bij 3D-printen worden meestal plastic draden omgesmolten en in laagjes tot het gewenste product gevormd. Technische risico's, bijvoorbeeld dat consumenten zich aan het warme apparaat of plastic branden, zijn door verantwoord gebruik gemakkelijk te beperken. Daarnaast ontstaan tijdens het printen dampen en kleine deeltjes die de gebruiker in kan ademen. Goed ventileren is belangrijk om dat te beperken. Verder kunnen consumenten aan chemische stoffen worden blootgesteld bij het gebruik van de geprinte producten. Dit kan via contact met de huid, zoals bij sieraden, en mond, bijvoorbeeld bij kinderspeelgoed of drinkbekers.A growing number of consumers have a 3D printer at home, or engage the services of specialized companies to print products. Frequently printed products include miniature figurines and components of technical and other equipment, as well as products used in daily life, such as phone cases. The Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) was commissioned by the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) to investigate whether the use of 3D printers and the associated products poses any risks to consumers. RIVM concluded that this is indeed the case, but that the severity of the risks involved cannot be accurately determined based on the available information. The risks depend to a large extent on consumers' exposure to specific materials or substances released during the printing process. Three-dimensional printing - also known as additive manufacturing - usually involves melting plastic wires and forming successive layers of material to create the required product. Technical risks (e.g. consumers suffering a burn from touching the hot printer or the hot plastic) can be easily mitigated through safe and responsible use. The printing process also produces fumes and small particles that can be inhaled by consumers. Adequate ventilation is important in order to reduce this risk. In addition, consumers may be exposed to chemical substances when using the printed products. Such exposure may occur through contact with the skin (e.g. in the case of jewellery) or mouth (e.g. children's toys and drinking cups).NVW

Risico's van 3D-printen in een consumentenomgeving : Technieken, materialen en producten

alleen digitaal verschene

Post-marketing surveillance van stoffen

On behalf of the Ministry of Health a survey was prepared of possibilities for setting up a 'post-marketing surveillance' (PMS)-system for chemical substances in consumer products, including food. With such a system, (long-term) health effects of substances which are already on the market may be identified. Setting up such a system was advised by the Health Council of The Netherlands (GR) based on a report from 2014. In this report, GR concluded that PMS of chemicals is warranted given that certain health effects in humans may not become visible in animal studies used for risk assessment. First, a preliminary overview of current PMS related activities in different areas of legislation, such as food, drugs and consumer products, was prepared. Existing experience in different legislative frameworks can feed into a new system. Relevant national stakeholders have contributed to the overview, and have discussed short and long-term opportunities for further development of PMS. Possible short-term options included sharing existing information, to connect different existing databases and to share new information about health effects of chemicals on an ad hoc basis. For the longer term, exposure assessment directly in humans or for example in blood samples stored in biobanks were considered. In addition, more extensive registration of the use of compounds in consumer products was advised, as well as international harmonization of PMS data collection. It was advised to establish a working group with stakeholders to expand this initiative and to exchange ad hoc information on a regular basis. stakeholders regulatory framework signalingIn opdracht van VWS heeft het RIVM een eerste inventarisatie gemaakt van mogelijkheden om een 'post marketing surveillance'-systeem (PMS) voor chemische stoffen in consumentenproducten, inclusief voeding, op te zetten. Met een dergelijk systeem worden signalen over schadelijke (langetermijn)effecten van stoffen in kaart gebracht, nadat ze op de markt zijn gebracht. Aanleiding hiervoor is een voorstel van de Gezondheidsraad om een PMS in te richten. De raad concludeerde namelijk in 2014 dat mogelijk niet alle relevante effecten van stoffen op de volksgezondheid uit (proefdier)onderzoek worden opgepikt, waardoor ze niet vooraf in de risicobeoordeling worden meegenomen. Voor de inventarisatie is eerst een globaal overzicht opgesteld welke post-marketing-surveillance activiteiten op het gebied van onder andere voeding, geneesmiddelen en consumentenproducten al worden uitgevoerd. Van de ervaringen uit deze 'kaders' kan immers gebruik worden gemaakt. Verschillende stakeholders binnen de overheid hebben het overzicht vervolgens aangevuld en hebben mogelijkheden voor aanpassingen op de korte en lange termijn besproken. Voor de korte termijn raden zij aan kennis uit verschillende kaders met elkaar te delen, bestaande databases aan elkaar te koppelen en elkaar te informeren over effecten van chemische stoffen die ad hoc worden gesignaleerd. Voor de toekomst wordt meer aansluiting gezocht bij metingen van blootstelling direct in de mens, dan wel via metingen in bijvoorbeeld bloedmonsters die in biobanken zijn opgeslagen. Ook wordt een intensievere registratie van het gebruik van stoffen in consumentenproducten voorgesteld, en een methode om PMS-data internationaal op uniforme manier te verzamelen. Geadviseerd wordt om de input met de stakeholders te structureren in de vorm van een werkgroepMinisterie van VW

Brainstorming opportunities for postmarketing surveillance of chemicals : Workshop report

On behalf of the Ministry of Health a survey was prepared of possibilities for setting up a 'post-marketing surveillance' (PMS)-system for chemical substances in consumer products, including food. With such a system, (long-term) health effects of substances which are already on the market may be identified. Setting up such a system was advised by the Health Council of The Netherlands (GR) based on a report from 2014. In this report, GR concluded that PMS of chemicals is warranted given that certain health effects in humans may not become visible in animal studies used for risk assessment. First, a preliminary overview of current PMS related activities in different areas of legislation, such as food, drugs and consumer products, was prepared. Existing experience in different legislative frameworks can feed into a new system. Relevant national stakeholders have contributed to the overview, and have discussed short and long-term opportunities for further development of PMS. Possible short-term options included sharing existing information, to connect different existing databases and to share new information about health effects of chemicals on an ad hoc basis. For the longer term, exposure assessment directly in humans or for example in blood samples stored in biobanks were considered. In addition, more extensive registration of the use of compounds in consumer products was advised, as well as international harmonization of PMS data collection. It was advised to establish a working group with stakeholders to expand this initiative and to exchange ad hoc information on a regular basis. stakeholders regulatory framework signalin

Effect of food-related behavioral activation therapy on food intake and the environmental impact of the diet: results from the MooDFOOD prevention trial

Purpose: Food-based dietary guidelines are proposed to not only improve diet quality, but to also reduce the environmental impact of diets. The aim of our study was to investigate whether food-related behavioral activation therapy (F-BA) applying Mediterranean-style dietary guidelines altered food intake and the environmental impact of the diet in overweight adults with subsyndromal symptoms of depression. Methods: In total 744 adults who either received the F-BA intervention (F-BA group) or no intervention (control group) for 12 months were included in this analysis. Food intake data were collected through a food frequency questionnaire at baseline and after 6 and 12 months. Greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE), land use (LU), and fossil energy use (FEU) estimates from life-cycle assessments and a weighted score of the three (pReCiPe score) were used to estimate the environmental impact of each individual diet at each timepoint. Results: The F-BA group reported increased intakes of vegetables (19.7 g/day; 95% CI 7.8–31.6), fruit (23.0 g/day; 9.4–36.6), fish (7.6 g/day; 4.6–10.6), pulses/legumes (4.0 g/day; 1.6–6.5) and whole grains (12.7 g/day; 8.0–17.5), and decreased intake of sweets/extras (− 6.8 g/day; − 10.9 to − 2.8) relative to control group. This effect on food intake resulted in no change in GHGE, LU, and pReCiPe score, but a relative increase in FEU by 1.6 MJ/day (0.8, 2.4). Conclusions: A shift towards a healthier Mediterranean-style diet does not necessarily result in a diet with reduced environmental impact in a real-life setting. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov. Number of identification: NCT02529423. August 2015

Fecal metabolome of the Hadza hunter-gatherers: a host-microbiome integrative view

The recent characterization of the gut microbiome of traditional rural and foraging societies allowed us to appreciate the essential co-adaptive role of the microbiome in complementing our physiology, opening up significant questions on how the microbiota changes that have occurred in industrialized urban populations may have altered the microbiota-host co-metabolic network, contributing to the growing list of Western diseases. Here, we applied a targeted metabolomics approach to profile the fecal metabolome of the Hadza of Tanzania, one of the world’s few remaining foraging populations, and compared them to the profiles of urban living Italians, as representative of people in the post-industrialized West. Data analysis shows that during the rainy season, when the diet is primarily plant-based, Hadza are characterized by a distinctive enrichment in hexoses, glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids, and acylcarnitines, while deplete in the most common natural amino acids and derivatives. Complementary to the documented unique metagenomic features of their gut microbiome, our findings on the Hadza metabolome lend support to the notion of an alternate microbiome configuration befitting of a nomadic forager lifestyle, which helps maintain metabolic homeostasis through an overall scarcity of inflammatory factors, which are instead highly represented in the Italian metabolome