The Cost of not Replacing Hazardous Cleaning Chemicals

/in /by

Hazardous industrial cleaners have been around for decades. For most of their time on the market, the oldest of the cleaners have had a clandestine existence, being dispensed strictly to industrial users, being avoided by workers at every turn, and being acknowledged as toxicity incarnate. On the bright side, the solvents did a heck of a job, so companies kept using them.

The time period described above is roughly about the same time when you could still smoke cigarettes in the grocery store, in government buildings, and even in the waiting room of a doctor’s office. The Clean Air Act was in place, but it was more of a futuristic novelty than a present force that had a discernable impact on daily air quality.

Fast forward to today, and my how times have changed. Hazardous industrial cleaning chemicals are still considered dangerous, but there’s now a slew of financial penalties associated with not replacing hazardous chemicals, when the cleaners are used in volumes that make the hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) they contain violate emission limits. Depending on the extent of the violation, the penalty could range from thousands to millions of dollars.

There’s also some other financial setbacks that industrial users of hazardous chemicals tend to suffer more regularly than non-users. As one might expect, the biggest toll is usually taken on personnel who work closely with the hazardous chemicals. Workers on the chemical front line commonly experience acute ailments that take them away from the work floor for a day or two, such as dizziness, upset stomach, and blurry vision, to name a few.

But these conditions are a cakewalk compared to the worst workers experience from chronic exposure to hazardous chemicals: permanent neurological damage that impairs movement and cancer. Depending on the particular hazardous agent you’re talking about, there could be more chronic conditions to consider.

For companies, this brings us to the ultimate cost of not replacing hazardous chemicals: jeopardizing human resources. Acute exposure to toxic chemicals may only take workers away from the workfloor temporarily, but personnel who suffer chronic injuries are usually gone for good, but they aren’t forgotten. At least, their employer often has to compensate them for reduced earning capacity.

Contact Us Today

To replace your company’s hazardous cleaning chemicals that pose a danger to workers’ health and company finances, contact Ecolink at (800) 563-1305, or use our contact form, to schedule a free consultation. Our stock solutions or a custom solution can provide the cleaning power you need, minus the significant health risks of solvents that contain hazardous air pollutants (HAPs).

One of the main concerns companies have when switching from a toxic solvent to an eco friendly one, is whether the latter will work as well as the former. We understand this concern. That’s why we give you the option of receiving a free sample of your cleaning solution to test with your procedures. When you find the product works as well as expected, place your order. We look forward to helping you use safer cleaners.

 

 

Hazardous Chemical Usage Evaluation: An Overview

/in /by

There was a time when the terms “industrial chemical” and “hazardous” were practically synonymous. Prior to the 1950s, hazardous chemical usage evaluation was largely non-existent on a public level. It was a time when people were more amazed at how well toxic solvents worked than anything negative the solvents might bring to human health and the environment.

Then and Now

Since the middle of the 20th Century, our perception of chemical usage evaluation has changed quite a bit. Today, companies and organizations tend to ask whether a prospective solvent has negative effects — and, if so, what the effects mean to workers and the environment — before they consider how well it could work for the cleaning application.

It’s a really good idea to take this perspective. Not only does our current state of chemical usage evaluation help companies be better stewards to the environment and their workers, who routinely handle chemicals; it also helps companies avoid using solvents that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is preparing to ban or severely regulate.

For example, the cleaning solvent ak225 has been banned, and nPB appears to be well on its way to the same end. For entities that use a toxic solvent in a large volume, replacing the solution with a safer one is now no longer just an option; it’s a necessity.

Evaluation Criteria

As complex as the formulation of certain solvents may be, the EPA makes performing a chemical usage evaluation on most solvents rather simple. The EPA is primarily concerned with banning and significantly regulating the use of solvents that contain hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) that are harmful to humans and the environment. Included in these pollutants are many volatile organic compounds (VOCs), despite their organic formulation.

Today, the EPA maintains what’s known as the List of Lists, which is a list of chemicals comprised of substances that have a profoundly negative effect on life and limb. The list is quite long, but it’s ultimately the result of nearly 30 years of gradually banning or regulating toxic chemicals based on chemical usage evaluation performed by top laboratories.

The EPA has taken a “gradual” approach primarily to avoid the negative economic impact of suddenly telling companies that they can no longer use a chemical that’s crucial for business. Rather, regulations and bans are generally announced well in advance, giving companies at least a few months to find suitable replacement solutions.

In other words, the EPA tries to help companies save time and money on replacements. However, if you ignore impending bans and regulations, spending time and money finding a replacement could be the least of your worries. Cleaning operations could grind to a halt, and you could face stiff fines.

Need Hazardous Chemical Replacements?

If the EPA’s chemical usage evaluation of your solvent means the cleaner will soon be banned or regulated to the point that you can no longer use it, contact Ecolink. We’ll provide you with a stock solvent or a custom solvent that offers the power you need, without having a highly hazardous formulation. To get started, call us today at (800) 563-1305, or fill out our contact form.

Cancer Causing Chemicals – Cheap Chemicals Are Costly in the End

/in /by

When it comes to cancer risk, using cancer causing chemicals in the workplace is similar to smoking cigarettes. People are often exposed to cancer causing agents countless time before they develop the disease that ends their life. But some people, as if they thumbed their nose at fate, never develop the disease.

Even so, betting against scientific evidence and continuing to use inexpensive cancer causing chemicals like trichloroethylene (TCE) and 1-bromopropane (nPB) is bad business, to say the least. Just ask attorneys that specialize in chemical injury lawsuits. They try and win thousands of chemical injury lawsuits each year, costing companies millions of dollars in settlements and legal fees.

Chemical Injuries Galore 

Chronic chemical injuries from substances such as TCE and nPB usually rear their ugly head over a period of years. Like a smoker who religiously puffs away at cigarettes for decades, until a amalgam of abnormal symptoms leads to a diagnosis of the “big C”, a worker who inhales hazardous chemical vapors can go for years without showing chronic ill effects, but the exposure often takes its expected course and turns him into a walking dead man.

Courtesy of Resource4thePeople —  an online source for free legal help and information — the following statistics from the past year give a ballpark idea of how many chemical injury cases are likely to see the inside of a courtroom and generate six-figure and seven-figure settlements.

  • Contusions or abrasions suffered as a result of chemical exposure: 3,200
  • Burns suffered as a result of chemical exposure: 33,200
  • Poisoning as a result of chemical exposure: 22,900
  • Dermatitis and conjunctivitis linked to chemical exposure: 20,500

According to Willens Law Offices in Chicago, “More than 10 percent of the occupational deaths are attributed to environmental and chemical exposure.” It’s a sobering statistics for companies that use cancer causing chemicals for solvent applications. It’s also a statistic that’s preventable when a company replaces toxic chemicals with non-toxic ones, and equips workers with personal protective equipment (PPE) that eliminates remaining exposure risks.

Choosing Replacement Solvents

Over the years, companies have elected not to replace solvent with cancer causing chemicals for various reasons. Two of the biggest reasons have been difficulty finding substitute solvents that don’t have cancer causing chemicals and deliver the same power, and difficulty finding a replacement solvent that can be “dropped in” without requiring downtime during the changeover.

From a business perspective, there was a time when these concerns were legitimate, but they aren’t anymore. Solvents that have a better safety profile than ones such as TCE and nPB and have just as much cleaning power are available online. Ecolink has emerged as one of the top destinations for these solvents.

Contact Us About Cancer Causing Chemical Replacements

If you use solvents that have cancer causing chemicals, don’t wait until Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) bans them, or the solvents cause workers to develop health problems. Save money, the health of your workers, and the hassle of replacing solvents on short notice by getting started on selecting replacements today. Call us at (800) 563-1305, or send us an email through the contact form on our website.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Six Financial Pitfalls That Non HAPs Replacements Help Prevent

/in /by

Are you looking for “non HAPs replacements”? If so, you’re making a wise move in several respects, especially if your company uses a large volume of cleaners that contain hazardous air pollutants (HAPs). The pitfalls of using solvents with HAPs are often discussed from an environmental perspective, but the potential financial pitfalls of using them isn’t talked about as much. That’s why we’re presenting five financial pitfalls that non HAP alternatives help prevent.

  1. Government Fines

HAPs are officially identified in the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) hazardous air pollutants list, which was instituted following the 1990 Clean Air Act. If a company uses any the chemicals on the list to the extent that it violates emission caps, a government fine may ensue.

  1. Workers Comp Claims

HAPs can cause health problems in those who work with them. In some cases, the effects are so debilitating that a lawyer recommends filing a workers comp claim. The more comp claims you pay, the greater the chance that your workers compensation insurance premiums will rise.

  1. Increased Sick Days

In addition to causing chronic health issues, HAPs can cause acute states of poor health, such as respiratory distress. When the effects are bad enough to make employees take sick days, a company can lose ground financially, as it essentially pays the workers for doing no work.

  1. Reduced Productivity

When HAP exposure leads to increased sick days and long-term disability for workers, productivity can take a significant dip, particularly if the positions that need to be filled require in-depth training. In the end, reduced productivity can lead to shallower revenue streams.

  1. Legal Settlements

The problems above can drill a hole in a company’s coffers, but they rarely have the budget shattering effect of a costly settlement that ends a liability case. In addition to spelling doom for the bottom line, settlements can hurt a company’s reputation when they make the public news.

  1. Damaged Reputation

If word gets around that your company is in trouble for using cleaners that contain HAPs, it could impact its relationship with business partners and customers. Since the green movement began, companies and individuals have displayed increased environmental awareness. Parties committed to green practices prefer to work with companies that are committed to them, too.

Contact Ecolink Today
If you are looking for non HAPs replacements, Ecolink has a variety of cleaning solutions that can meet your needs. For example, if you need a powerful, multi-purpose degreaser, implementing our organic solvent VORTEX is an excellent option. However, if our readymade solutions don’t meet your requirements, we will create a custom cleaning solution that does.

If you need assistance with selecting the right non HAPs replacements, call us today at (800) 563-1305, or refer to the contact page on our website. If you are ready to order, you can use the same resources. Using non HAPs replacements will do more than help save the environment. It will also help your company save money. Contact us today to discuss your replacement options!

Four Types of Companies That Benefit From Non Hazardous Air Pollutants

/in /by

If you are in the market for industrial cleaning solvents, chances are that you have heard of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) and the problems they can cause. For many companies, two of the biggest problems HAPs create are negative health conditions in workers and toxic emissions that can trigger heavy fines if they exceed government-imposed emission caps.

With this in mind, below are four types of companies that can significantly benefit from using non hazardous air pollutants, which are substances that contribute to emissions, but not in a capacity that the EPA regulates. If you have questions about the difference between non hazardous air pollutants and hazardous ones, call Ecolink today at (800) 563-1305.

  1. Companies Located in Low Emission Zones

Low emission zones (LEZs) are areas where emission caps are considerably lower than they are in most other types of environments. If your company is located in a LEZ and uses a significant volume of industrial cleaning solvents, using solvents that contain no HAPs may be essential for completing work processes while avoiding fines for breaking emission caps.

  1. Companies With Open Work Environments

Some companies use solvents that contain HAPs in tightly controlled environments that prevent the solutions’ ingredients from moving to other work areas due to evaporation and airflow, while other companies must use them in open work environments. The latter type of companies can use non hazardous solutions to help prevent widespread, negative health conditions in workers.

  1. Companies That Depend Heavily on Manpower

Solvents that contain HAPs are well-known for causing acute and chronic negative health conditions in workers who are highly exposed to them. For companies that depend heavily on manpower to carry out business-critical work processes, the use of non hazardous air pollutants can help prevent dips in productivity that result from HAP-related health conditions in workers.

  1. Companies That are in Cost Cutting Mode

The use of solutions that contain HAPs can lead to several types of financial circumstances that negatively impact the bottom line, including: workers compensation payouts, financial settlements for legal liability cases, increased payment of sick days, and government fines. If your company is currently in cost cutting mode, using solvents that have HAPs presents a conflict of interest. Switching to non hazardous solvents is the financially sensible alternative.

Need Non Hazardous Industrial Cleaners?
If your company has determined that using solvents with HAPs is too financially risky and/or poses too much danger to workers, switching to solutions that are classified as non hazardous air pollutants may be the most sensible alternative. To find out for sure, contact the solvent specialists at Ecolink by calling (800) 563-1305, or refer to the contact page on our website.

We have years of experience in helping companies replace hazardous cleaning solvents with non hazardous solvents that are safer to use than their toxic counterparts, while delivering the same level of cleaning power as the solutions that they replace. Swap out hazardous solvents for non hazardous ones, and protect your company against the negative impact of HAPs.