Printing Processes and Printing Inks - The International Agency for Research on Cancer

Exposures in the printing industry are assessed according to their occurrence in printing ink manufacture and in printing operations such as letterpress lithography flexography gravure and screen-printing. Although many epidemiological studies have demonstrated some evidence of cancer risk in printing trades and printing industries the assessment found several important problems in the design of these studies. Occupational exposures in printing processes were classified as possibly carcinogenic to humans. Printing inks could not be classified.

The second monograph evaluates the carcinogenicity of carbon black an intense black pigment mainly used in tyres and other rubber automotive products and in many other rubber products. Although the evaluation found sufficient evidence in experimental animals that exposure to carbon black causes lung tumours data on carcinogenicity to humans were judged inadequate. Carbon black was classified as possibly carcinogenic to humans. The remaining monographs evaluate selected nitro compounds. Of these 3 7- and 3 9-dinitrofluoranthenes 2 4- and 2 6-dinitro-toluenes 2-nitroanisole nitrobenzene and tetranitromethane were evaluated as possibly carcinogenic to humans. Chloronitrobenzenes 3 5-dinitrotoluene nitrotoluenes 2 4 6-trinitrotoluene and musk xylene and musk ambrette could not be classified.