3D printed objects found to be toxic to fish (2015)

[Patx]

Hello, i don't know a thing about 3D printing.
But i stupon this article

Uh oh! 3D printed objects found to be toxic to fish

Researchers have discovered that plastic objects created by both types of popular 3D printing techniques do serious harm to fish, at least when it comes to zebrafish embryo development.

reefs.com

Is it still "a thing" ?

 

[*GAREEF*]

Hello, i don't know a thing about 3D printing.
But i stupon this article

Uh oh! 3D printed objects found to be toxic to fish

Researchers have discovered that plastic objects created by both types of popular 3D printing techniques do serious harm to fish, at least when it comes to zebrafish embryo development.

reefs.com

Is it still "a thing" ?

Yikes, this is the first I’ve heard about it.

 

[Reefer Matt]

It looks like a conclusion without evidence or all the facts. They failed to mention which type of filament was used. Usually petg filament made from an fdm printer is considered reef safe.

 

[*GAREEF*]

It looks like a conclusion without evidence or all the facts. They failed to mention which type of filament was used. Usually petg filament made from an fdm printer is considered reef safe.

Good to know thanks for sharing.

 

[Js.Aqua.Project]

Doubling what @Reefer Matt said, they didn't specify what FDM material was used so I wouldn't worry or jump the gun yet as ABS and PETG are both common plastics already used elsewhere in the hobby that are also used for 3D printing.

For the STL printing, it is well known that resins are toxic and have to be cured with UV before being handled or used so them doing the test before curing doesn't seem like a test that aligns to industry best practices.

 

[JayM]

The write-up is almost a decade old, and has little useful information. The type of materials used for printing I would think is far more important than the method used for printing.

 

[Mschmidt]

What others have said; petg is safe, pla is safe but will break down, abs is has toxic fumes when printing it but after is fine and doesn't break down.

 

[Dysprosium]

I am a professional chemist, so I looked at the paper they reference and the data doesn't say what this article is spouting.

The FDM and UV-cured SLA prints are well within the error bars of the control, such that it isn't statistically meaningful without a much bigger study. Experimentally, those numbers are all the same.

The uncured SLA samples certinly kill off things, but that's entirely expected and also would be completely abnormal for the process, you UV-cure SLA parts, and rinse with IPA, that's how it is done. The toxicity is clearly due to unpolymerized monomers, which would be expected.

Additionally, this is one of the most sensitive tests which is why it is used, and the conditions - eggs developing directly on the surface - is the highest potential exposure. They did not do a control of the disk on the otherside of an aquarium to check for distance, for example.

In short, this is one paper, the only conclusion is that SLA right-off-the-printer isn't great to breed zebra fish in.

 

[Polymate3D]

No specialist but one thing to consider to 3D printer users is to stick to FDM for parts, but also try and stick to a hardened or stainless steel nozzle and no filaments with no fillers.

Many hotends are fitted with a brass nozzle and these do wear even with normal PLA or PETG. PETG seems to be the most agreed on material to use and there is no real reason not too. I stick to a stainless steel nozzle myself.

Final thing is to soak in RO water before hand. If you have used any adhesives etc you`ll want to make sure they are removed prior to use.