# Are ABS/ASA fumes dangerous, and do I need ventilation?

Yes. Prusa tells you to print ABS and ASA in a well-ventilated room because both release fumes, and both articles name styrene. A 2016 chamber study measured styrene from ABS and HIPS at about 10 to 110 micrograms per minute, and it says to be careful in a poorly ventilated small office or without combined gas and particle filtration.

Yes. Prusa tells you to print ABS and ASA in a well-ventilated room because both release fumes, and both articles name styrene. A 2016 chamber study measured styrene from ABS and HIPS at about 10 to 110 micrograms per minute, and it says to be careful in a poorly ventilated small office or without combined gas and particle filtration.

Print ABS and ASA only where the room is ventilated, and do not aim that airflow at the part. Prusa calls the fumes potentially dangerous and names styrene for both plastics. A chamber study measured styrene from ABS and HIPS and told operators to be careful in a small, poorly ventilated office, or to use combined gas and particle filtration. [ABS printing](/answers/abs_print), [ASA printing](/answers/asa_print), [enclosures](/answers/abs_enclosure), and [warping](/answers/warping) are the print-process pages. [Heat](/answers/heat) is why people choose these filaments anyway.

## What is published

[Prusa's ABS article](https://help.prusa3d.com/article/abs_2058) lists toxic fumes as a main disadvantage and "potentially dangerous fumes (styrene)" in the cons table. The instruction is a well-ventilated room, because the material releases fumes and substances that could pose a potential health risk, and no draft around the print. [Prusa's ASA article](https://help.prusa3d.com/article/asa_1809) uses the same pair of sentences and the same styrene cons line. It also says ASA does not smell as much as ABS. Smell is not the measurement.

Azimi, Zhao, Pouzet, Crain, and Stephens, Environmental Science & Technology, 2016, DOI 10.1021/acs.est.5b04983, measured desktop printers in a chamber. The abstract's median ultrafine-particle emission rates ran from about 10^8 to about 10^11 per minute, varying mostly by filament. The largest VOC lines include styrene from ABS and HIPS at about 10 to about 110 micrograms per minute, caprolactam from nylon and from imitation wood and brick at about 2 to about 180 micrograms per minute, and lactide from PLA at about 4 to about 5 micrograms per minute. The screening line says use caution with many of those combinations in a poorly ventilated small office, or without combined gas and particle filtration. This page does not convert those rates into a room concentration, and it does not cite an occupational exposure limit.

[Bambu ABS](/brand/bambu-lab/abs) and [PolyLite ABS](/brand/polymaker/polylite-abs) both list 230–260 °C (446–500 °F) and a bed of 90–110 °C (194–230 °F). [Prusament ASA](/brand/prusament/asa) lists 250–270 °C (482–518 °F) and 100–120 °C (212–248 °F). Those are print temperatures. A separate ABS or ASA safety data sheet was not retrieved, so this page does not quote an SDS section. [ABS](/material/abs) and [ASA](/material/asa) are the hubs.

## The threads

[r/prusa3d 108oby3](https://www.reddit.com/r/prusa3d/comments/108oby3/) is someone printing PLA in a bedroom with a window, a ceiling fan, and an Ikea purifier. The score-20 comment says that monitor is PM2.5 only and will not detect VOCs. That is the same split the paper makes between particles and gases.

[r/BambuLab 1vj3wsm](https://www.reddit.com/r/BambuLab/comments/1vj3wsm/) is the ABS/ASA fume question. The score-3 comment exhausts outside and says the absence of a smell is not a safety result. The score-2 comment's 7 kW fan and 60 m3/h rating describe that cupboard. They are not a specification for your printer.

[r/3Dprinting 1qrp6el](https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/1qrp6el/) drew a score-60 comment that PLA is corn starch based. PLA's lactide number above is the published comparison. The comment is not.

Updated 2026-10-19. Sources accessed 2026-10-19. Use case: ABS.

## Ranked filaments

| Rank | Filament | Nozzle | Bed | Price per kg |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Bambu Lab ABS | 230–260 °C (446–500 °F) | 90–110 °C (194–230 °F) | — |
| 2 | Polymaker Polylite ABS | 230–260 °C (446–500 °F) | 90–110 °C (194–230 °F) | — |
| 3 | Prusament ASA | 250–270 °C (482–518 °F) | 100–120 °C (212–248 °F) | — |

## What the community says

r/prusa3d 108oby3 is a bedroom PLA setup with an Ikea purifier. The score-20 comment says that monitor detects PM2.5 and will not detect VOCs, and that higher-temperature thermoplastics should be filtered. r/BambuLab 1vj3wsm is about ABS and ASA fumes. The score-3 comment says that person exhausts the enclosure outside, and that no smell is not the same as safe. The score-2 comment describes a 7 kW fan rated 60 m3/h on a cupboard. Those figures are the commenter's setup. r/3Dprinting 1qrp6el's score-60 comment says PLA is corn starch based. That is not an emissions result. No excerpt was supplied for r/prusa3d 1gdjje6 or r/functionalprint 13fi255.

## Sources

- [Prusa Knowledge Base, ABS](https://help.prusa3d.com/article/abs_2058) (manufacturer)
- [Prusa Knowledge Base, ASA](https://help.prusa3d.com/article/asa_1809) (manufacturer)
- [Azimi et al. 2016, Environmental Science & Technology, DOI 10.1021/acs.est.5b04983](https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.est.5b04983) (other)
- [Bambu ABS technical data sheet](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0645/5876/0155/files/Bambu_ABS_Technical_Data_Sheet_V3.pdf) (datasheet)
- [Polymaker PolyLite ABS technical data sheet](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0548/7299/7945/files/PolyLite_ABS_TDS_EN_V5.4.pdf) (datasheet)
- [Community source, r/prusa3d 108oby3](https://www.reddit.com/r/prusa3d/comments/108oby3/) (reddit)
- [Community source, r/BambuLab 1vj3wsm](https://www.reddit.com/r/BambuLab/comments/1vj3wsm/) (reddit)
- [Community source, r/3Dprinting 1qrp6el](https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/1qrp6el/) (reddit)
- [Community source, r/prusa3d 1gdjje6](https://www.reddit.com/r/prusa3d/comments/1gdjje6/) (reddit)
- [Community source, r/functionalprint 13fi255](https://www.reddit.com/r/functionalprint/comments/13fi255/) (reddit)

HTML: https://filamentfacts.com/answers/abs_fumes