Comments about the human health risks related to additive manufacturing

Abstract

Additive Manufacturing processes are establishing themselves in different fields, especially due to the possibility to realize free-form and highly personalized products. Life Cycle Cost and Life Cycle Assessment analyses have been conducted to evaluate the economic and environmental sustainability of AM techniques. However, a consolidated knowledge of the risks for exposures to AM materials (as metallic powders) and of the hazards for fire and dust explosions is still missing. The paper performs an investigation on these aspects focusing on the existing literature and on the standards proposed by different international regulatory organizations. A critical review of the achieved awareness in the domestic and industrial environments is carried out, and the importance of models for the construction of risk indicators is highlighted.