United States Air and Energy Engineering

Environmental Protection Research Laboratory

Agency Research Triangle Park, NC 27711

E AP Project Summary

Research and Development EPA/600/SR-95/045 June 1995

The full report summarizes available

information on office equipment design;

indoor air emissions of organics, ozone,

and particulates from office equipment;

and pollution prevention approaches for

reducing these emissions. Since much

of the existing emissions data from office equipment are proprietary and not

available in the general literature, they

are not included in the report. The report covers (1) dry and wet process

photoimaging machines (copiers, printers, and faxes); (2) spirit duplicators;

(3) mimeograph machines; (4) digital

duplicators; (5) diazo (blueprint) machines; (6) computers and computer

terminals; (7) impact matrix printers;

and (8) other equipment types.

Office equipment emits indoor air pollutants as a result of equipment operation, offgassing from components, or

episodic releases related to catastrophic

failure of a unit. For equipment that

does not use supplies (e.g., video display terminals) emissions are primarily

from offgassing of residual organics.

Increased levels of ozone, total volatile

organic compounds, and particulates

have been observed in the presence of

operating equipment and have been

associated with complaints by exposed

workers. Published emission rates, IAQ

impacts, and potential pollution prevention solutions associated with the

equipment types are discussed in the

full report.

This Project Summary was developed

by EPA’s Air and Energy Engineering

Research Laboratory, Research Triangle Park, NC, to announce key findings of the research project that is fully

Office Equipment: Design, Indoor

Air Emissions, and Pollution

Prevention Opportunities

Robert Hetes, Mary Moore, and Coleen Northeim

documented in a separate report of the

same title (see Project Report ordering

information at back).

Background

Several recent studies by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have

identified indoor air quality (IAQ) as one

of the most important environmental risks

to the Nation’s health. People spend approximately 90% of their time in indoor

environments such as residences, public

buildings, and offices, where concentrations of many pollutants are frequently

higher than in outdoor urban air. Some

activities can lead to indoor air pollutant

levels up to 1,000 times higher than outdoor levels.

Approaches for improving IAQ to date

have generally focused on mitigation techniques such as ventilation and air cleaning. These traditional mitigation approaches

do not prevent pollution—the pollution is

simply transferred to another medium or

outdoors. Depending on the source of indoor air pollution, another approach is to

focus on source reduction, ensuring that

pollutants do not enter the indoor environment in the first place. In the Pollution

Prevention Act of 1990, Congress declared

that pollution should be prevented or reduced at the source whenever feasible.

Source reduction may be accomplished

by modifications to equipment, processes,

and procedures; reformulations or redesign of products; substitution of raw materials; and improvements in use procedures.

In multimedia pollution prevention, all environmental media are considered, and

transfer of risks or pollution from one medium to another is avoided.
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EPA’s Air and Energy Engineering Research Laboratory (AEERL) is responsible

for EPA’s indoor air engineering research.

AEERL’s Indoor Air Branch (IAB) is integrating IAQ and pollution prevention into

a strategic approach to indoor air source

management. IAB’s pollution prevention/

IAQ research objective is to employ accepted pollution prevention techniques to

reduce indoor air pollution through the development of low-emitting materials (LEMs)

and/or low-impact materials (LIMs). LEMs

are used in the same manner in the same

indoor environment as another material

but emit less pollution. LIMs are designed

to be more amenable to control (e.g., ventilation) than a similar material used in the

same manner in the same indoor environment.

EPA Research on Office

Equipment

In October 1993, Research Triangle Institute (RTI), Underwriters Laboratories

(UL), and AEERL’s IAB initiated a cooperative agreement to research pollution

prevention approaches for reducing indoor

air emissions from office equipment. The

objectives are to characterize indoor air

emissions from selected types of office

equipment, then to identify and evaluate

pollution prevention approaches (i.e., the

development of LEMs/LIMs). The research

approach includes literature reviews of

emissions from office equipment; development of a standard test method; emission testing and modeling of selected

equipment; and cooperative interaction

with industry to identify, evaluate, and

implement research, development, and

demonstration activities to reduce the indoor air impact from office equipment.

Technical advisors have been organized

by IAB and RTI to provide expertise for

the project. The advisors include trade

association representatives, industry representatives, and academia.

The objective of the report is to summarize available information on office equipment design; indoor air emissions of organics, ozone, and particulates from office equipment; and pollution prevention

approaches for reducing these emissions.

Note that much of the existing emissions

data from office equipment are proprietary

and not available in the general literature

and are therefore not included in the report. The full report covers the following

types of equipment:

• Dry and wet process photoimaging

machines (copiers, printers, and

faxes)

• Spirit duplicators

• Mimeograph machines

• Digital duplicators

• Diazo (blueprint) machines

• Computers and computer terminals

• Impact matrix printers

• Other equipment types

The full report emphasizes photoimaging

machines because of their prevalence,

their projected growth in sales, and potential opportunities for pollution prevention.

Equipment such as very large, high-volume duplicating machines and offset printing presses that are commonly used at

quick-print shops are not included in the

report. Office products such as adhesives,

correction fluids, pens/markers, and carbonless copy paper may contain chemicals that impact IAQ. However, office products are not being researched under this

project. In addition, the evaluation of electromagnetic fields that may result from the

operation of some types of office equipment is outside the scope of this research.

Literature Summary

The office environment contains many

types of equipment that emit indoor air

pollutants. Emissions may occur as a result of equipment operation, offgassing

from components, or episodic releases related to catastrophic failure of a unit. For

equipment that does not use supplies (e.g.,

video display terminals) emissions are primarily from offgassing of residual organics. The source of these organics can be

either the construction materials (e.g., plastics casings) or components (e.g., cards

used in manufacturing integrated circuit

boards). Emissions resulting from

offgassing decrease with time until they

reach a point where they are negligible. It

has been reported that over 300 hours of

“on time” is required before video display

terminal emissions reach a negligible level.

Emissions from equipment that uses

supplies such as toner, ink, and paper

(e.g., photocopiers, printers, diazo machines) result from both offgassing and

operation. Emissions from offgassing will

decrease with time; however, emissions

from operation will either remain fairly constant or may even increase between routine maintenance and as the equipment

ages. For example, ozone emissions from

five tested photocopiers ranged from 16

to 131 μg/copy before routine maintenance

and were reduced to less than 1 to 4 μg/

copy after maintenance.

In general, published data on emissions

from office equipment are limited. However, increased levels of ozone, total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs), and particulates have been observed in the presence of operating equipment. Increased

levels of ozone, formaldehyde, TVOCs,

and particulates have been observed in a

chamber evaluation of operating office

equipment (three personal computers, one

photocopier, and one laser printer). Thirty

human subjects participating in the experiment had a significantly increased perception of headache, mucous membrane

irritation, and dryness in the eyes, nose,

and throat as well as reported dry and

tight facial skin when exposed to the operating equipment in the chamber. Other

researchers have also reported that emissions associated with normal operation of

office equipment can contribute to increased indoor air pollutant concentrations

and have been associated with complaints

from exposed workers.

When evaluating the impact of a piece

of office equipment on IAQ it is important

to consider

• emission rates and duration,

• toxicity or irritation potential of substances emitted,

• physical relationships of the source,

the occupants, and the space they

occupy (the proximity of the source to

people breathing its emissions can

greatly affect the amount of dispersion and dilution of emissions and,

therefore, the concentration actually

breathed), and

• sensitivity of the occupants.

Table 1 summarizes published emission rates, IAQ impacts, and potential pollution prevention solutions associated with

the equipment types discussed in the report. The equipment is listed in priority

order (highest priority on top) for evaluation as part of the EPA and RTI pollution

prevention research. The criteria used to

prioritize the equipment types that are intended to maximize pollution prevention

rewards include relatively high emissions

(either as a unit or in total emissions),

minimal design differences among manufacturers, easily understood processes,

and the feasibility (both technical and economic) for pollution prevention measures

and projected market share. For example,

certain types of equipment with limited

applications can have high emission rates

but may affect IAQ in only a limited area

or in a few locations (e.g., diazo machines).

Others may have significantly lower emission rates on a per unit basis but may be

found throughout a building and therefore

have a significant overall impact on IAQ

(e.g., printers).

Dry-process photocopiers have been

identified as a high priority for pollution

prevention research. They are prevalent

in most office environments and are a
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Table 1. Summary of Office Equipment Emission Information (Based on 1994 Literature Survey)

General Comments on

Type of Potential Pollution Pollution Prevention

Equipment Emissions IAQ/Emission Rate Prevention Solutions Research Selection Criteria

Dry-process Hydrocarbons, O3: Average 40 μg/copy; peak Lower voltage to reduce Common product found in most

photocopying respirable suspended production 131 μg/copy; 0-1350 ozone (charged rollers), toner office settings. Smaller units

machines particulates (toner μg/min, ave = 259 μg/min; reformulation, improved lower emission rates but more

powder), and ozone 48-158 μg/copy; <4-54 μg/copy transfer efficiency, low common, large production units

maintenance machines, lower often with dedicated HVAC

fuser temperature, changes in systems, over 1.5 million

toner particle size, low- units sold annually

Particulate: 0.001 μg/m3 room emitting components

concentration of black carbon.

90-460 μg/m3 in exhaust air

TVOC: 0.5-16.4 μg/sheet from

paper

Laser printers Hydrocarbons, O3: 100-4000 μg/m3 room Same as for dry-process Common technology found in

respirable concentration; average 438 photocopying machines most office settings

particulates and μg/min; 100 μg/min (w/filter)

ozone

Particulate: 60 μg/min

TVOC: 2.0-6.5 μg/sheet from

paper

Computer Ozone and Limited published data, TVOC: Low-emitting materials and/or Thought to have relatively low

terminals offgassing VOCs Maximum of 175 μg/hour from lower voltage, alternative emissions when compared to

VDT drops quickly within 300 materials for cards used in other sources that use supplies.

hours of on time integrated circuit boards Over 10 million units sold

annually

Wet-process Aliphatic TVOC: 25 g/h, 0.241 g/copy Solvent reformulation; Small market share

photocopying hydrocarbons and observed high room pressure fusing; decrease

machines ozone concentration of 64 mg/m3 voltage, low-emitting

4,150 mg/m3 in exhaust air components

Ink/bubble jet Hydrocarbons, No published emission rate or Solvent reformulation, low- Used primarily for personal

printers ozone IAQ data emitting components printers, home use

Spirit Methanol Breathing zone concentrations Mineral spirits or replacement Limited market, schools and

duplicators of 40-635 ppm; 195-3,000 ppm with photocopiers (may or institutions

with no ventilation, 80-1,300 may not be pollution

ppm with ventilation, and 9-135 prevention)

ppm with enclosure and

ventilation

Mimeograph Hydrotreated heavy Heavy naphthenic distillate: 30 Ink reformulation, replacement Limited market, schools and

machines and light naphthenic mg/page with photocopiers or other institutions

distillates 10 mg/page light naphthenic technologies (may or may not

distillate be pollution prevention)

Fax Ozone and VOCs No published emissions rate or Same as for dry-process Found in most office settings,

machines IAQ data photocopying machines rapidly changing technology

may be integrated with copier/

printers

Digital VOCs-petroleum Combined VOCs: 20 mg/page Lower VOC inks, replacement Limited market share

duplicators solvent and ethylene with photocopiers (may or

glycol may not be pollution

prevention)

Blueprint Ammonia, carbon 1-40 ppm ammonia in breathing CAD/alternative technologies, Older technology, losing market

machines monoxide, methanol, zone of operator, average = 8.2 improved maintenance share to CAD/alternative

(dyeline) ethanol, ppm technologies

trinitrofluorene,

trichloroethane

(continued)
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Table 1. Continued

General Comments on

Type of Potential Pollution Pollution Prevention

Equipment Emissions IAQ/Emission Rate Prevention Solutions Research Selection Criteria

Impact VOCs TVOC: 0.7-1.0 μg/sheet from Low-emitting components Used generally for personal

printers paper reformulated inks printers, home use. Relatively

No data on emissions from low emission rates.

operation

Plotters VOCs No published emission rate or Low-emitting components, Limited market share, sales

IAQ data reformulated inks around 250,000 a year

worldwide

known source of ozone, particulate, and

VOC emissions. The size of photocopiers

can range from small personal models to

fairly large machines that can have relatively high emission rates.

Laser printers, which use a technology

similar to that of dry-process photocopiers

and have been shown to have similar

emissions, were identified as a secondary

priority for pollution prevention research,

given that they are much smaller in terms

of throughput and concomitant unit emission rates than photocopiers and that

NIOSH is conducting emissions tests on

laser printers. NIOSH’s testing program is

intended to define emission rates for laser

printers and will be used for estimating

adequate ventilation needs. However, the

results from the NIOSH study are expected

to be shared with EPA and RTI and can

be used to support this pollution prevention research.

Indoor air emissions from computers and

impact printers are limited to offgassing

from basic construction materials and electronic components. These emissions are

highest for new machines and diminish

with time. Therefore, although they may

impact localized IAQ and are found in

most office settings, their total combined

impact on IAQ is likely to be less than for

dry-process photocopiers.

Wet-process photocopiers have been

shown to be a major contributor to indoor

air VOC levels in several studies and have

significantly greater emissions than dryprocess machines on a per unit basis.

However, wet-process machines constitute a small part of the photocopier market. Therefore, although wet-process machines have higher per unit emission rates,

dry-process photocopiers may result in

greater overall emissions based on the

greater number of units in operation.

Other equipment that has been shown

to have high individual emission rates includes spirit duplicators, mimeograph machines, plotters, and diazo (blueprint) machines. However, this equipment is rather

specialized, with limited numbers of units

in operation. Furthermore, some of this

equipment is no longer manufactured or

is decreasing in use.

A final report covering the research conducted under this cooperative agreement

between EPA, RTI, and UL will be issued

upon completion of the research in 1996.

Additional information on indoor air emissions from office equipment is available

from the sources listed in Appendix A of

the full report.
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Robert Hetes, Mary Moore (now with Cadmus, Inc.), and Coleen Northeim are with

Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709

Kelly W. Leovic is the EPA Project Officer (see below).

The complete report, entitled “Office Equipment: Design, Indoor Air Emissions, and

Pollution Prevention Opportunities,” (Order No. PB95-191375; Cost: $19.50,

subject to change) will be available only from:

National Technical Information Service

5285 Port Royal Road

Springfield, VA 22161

Telephone: 703-487-4650

The EPA Project Officer can be contacted at:

Air and Energy Engineering Research Laboratory

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Research Triangle Park, NC 27711

• •

United States

Environmental Protection Agency

Center for Environmental Research Information

Cincinnati, OH 45268

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