User Manual

Facts about the Safety of Xerox Products 7
Xerox
®
Supplies
Materials Safety Evaluation
Materials used in our products comply with applicable external regulatory requirements as well as Xerox’s
more stringent internal safety requirements. During the assessment of any material or product, both its
inherent properties (potential hazards) and the potential exposures to customers and service personnel
are considered.
The various materials used in imaging processes are evaluated for their toxic potential by reviewing
published technical data or by responsible testing. The safety evaluation process considers possible
acute and chronic effects as well as the potential for eye and skin irritation. Various bacterial and
mammalian cell type tests are used as predictors of potential genotoxic effects.
All tests are performed to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) methods
by independent laboratories that operate in accordance with the rules of good laboratory practice, and the
results are documented and placed into the health and safety archives. Further, all laboratories used in
safety testing are accredited by, or meet the standards of, the American Association for Accreditation of
Laboratory Animal Care. Responsible use and humane treatment of animals are basic requirements of
sound scientific research and the generation of valid test data. Whenever feasible, we utilize alternatives
to animal testing; however, viable alternatives do not always exist. In all instances, we ensure that our
safety testing activities are in full compliance with worldwide regulatory standards and requirements.
Summaries of the test results are published in the Material Safety Data Sheets—under the Toxicology
heading. Xerox makes the actual detailed test reports available to appropriate health and safety
regulatory agencies.
Toners and Developers
Xerox
®
toners are fine powders composed of plastics, colorants and small quantities of functional
additives. They are not considered to be hazardous preparations according to any regulatory
classification criteria. Toner constituents must not only produce images having high xerographic quality
but also pass our health and safety reviews.
The toners are typically designed using styrene-acrylic, styrene-butadiene or polyester polymers. In black
toners, several different specialty grade carbon blacks or iron oxide are used as colorant, while for color
images, various dyes or pigments are employed. During the toner manufacturing process, the carbon
black (or other colorant) and polymer are combined in such a way that the colorant becomes
encapsulated by the polymer.