Health and Environmental Aspects
See also: Environmental issues with paperThere is a misconception that ink is non-toxic even if swallowed. Once ingested, ink can be hazardous to one's health. Certain inks, such as those used in digital printers, and even those found in a common pen can be harmful. Though ink does not easily cause death, inappropriate contact can cause effects such as severe headaches, skin irritation, or nervous system damage. These effects can be caused by solvents, or by pigment ingredients such as p-Anisidine, which helps create some inks' color and shine.
Three main environmental issues with ink are:
- Volatile organic compounds
- Heavy metals
- Non-renewable oils
Some regulatory bodies have set standards for the amount of heavy metals in ink. There is a trend toward vegetable oils rather than petroleum oils in recent years in response to a demand for better environmental sustainability.
Read more about this topic: Ink
Famous quotes containing the words health and, health and/or aspects:
“Woman ... cannot be content with health and agility: she must make exorbitant efforts to appear something that never could exist without a diligent perversion of nature. Is it too much to ask that women be spared the daily struggle for superhuman beauty in order to offer it to the caresses of a subhumanly ugly mate?”
—Germaine Greer (b. 1939)
“The greatest public health threat for many American women is the men they live with.”
—Anna Quindlen (b. 1952)
“... of all the aspects of social misery nothing is so heartbreaking as unemployment ...”
—Jane Addams (1860–1935)