Hazardous chemicals produced by laser materials processing

Despite evidence to the contrary, until recently many laser operators believed, or at least stated, that the only chemical by-products of laser processing of any consequence were water and CO2. During the last eight years, especially, several investigations have shown that hazardous materials are produced when cutting or welding nearly all substrates. In the following paper, the major chemical hazards associated with processing metals, inorganics, biomaterials, and polymers are outlined.