Reasons to Start Searching for Acetone Alternatives
Acetone (a.k.a., propanone) is an organic compound that is a colorless, volatile, flammable liquid. Acetone was first formulated in the Middle Ages. Since then, it has gone on to be used in a variety of industrial and residential applications. There was a time when it seemed like almost every maintenance department and handyman’s garage contained a drum of acetone.
However, cetone, although still quite popular among businesses and consumers as a general cleaner, has fallen out of favor with many users due to the reasons below. If you use acetone, these are reasons to start searching for acetone alternatives that exhibit a better safety profile.
Negative Health Effects
According to healthline.com, “Acetone poisoning can occur when there’s an abnormally high amount of ketones [in the body]. This is a condition known as “ketoacidosis.” Metabolic diseases, such as type 1 and type 2 diabetes, can result in ketoacidosis if glucose levels aren’t properly managed.” Signs and symptoms of diabetic ketoacidosis include: nausea and vomiting,
Abdominal pain, weakness or fatigue, shortness of breath, and marked confusion.
Highly Flammable Formulation
Acetone has a low flashpoint of ?20 °C (?4 °F). This means that the cleaner should be used in environments that few if any ignition sources, and it should be stored in an environment where sparks, flames and unexpected arc flashes are absent or strategically prevented from contacting containers of acetone. Damage from a fire that acetone causes in a facility can be corrected. The same isn’t always true for workers who receive serious burns from the volatile compound.
State Reporting Requirements
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) doesn’t consider acetone to be a hazardous air pollutant (HAP). There’s no guarantee it won’t happen in the future. But, for now, there’s not an unavoidable legal reason to phase out the popular cleaner. However, certain states, such as Ohio, have reporting requirements for the use of acetone. Be sure to read your state’s literature on the use of acetone, especially before you deploy it in large quantities.
Federal Reporting Requirements
The compound is not considered a carcinogen by the National Toxicology Program (NTP), but other organizations have established reporting requirements for cetone use, including: the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). For some companies and organizations, the bothersome reporting requirements are motivation enough to start searching for acetone alternatives.
Searching for Acetone Alternatives?
If so, Ecolink has a wide range of cleaning solutions that deliver the same efficacy as acetone but lack some of the compound’s most undesirable qualities, such as a low flashpoint, potential to cause health problems due to exposure, and few, if any, regulated reporting requirements.
To get started on evaluating drop-in acetone alternatives, give us a call today at (800) 563-1305, or use our contact form. We look forward to providing you with an environmentally preferred cleaner in the form of a stock solvent or a custom formulation that’s tailored to your cleaning operations. Visit us today to find out more!
Finding TCE Alternative Cleaners: It’s Easier Than You Think
/in TCE/by Industrial DegreasersThere are three main reasons why companies and organizations still use solvents that contain trichloroethylene (TCE): the chemical is highly affordable, it suits a variety of solvent-based applications — from degreasing to formulating pepper spray — and it’s financially inconvenient to halt a solvent-based operation while one solution is swapped with another.
From a business perspective, these are good reasons to keep using TCE despite its toxicity. However, over time, TCE can go from being one of your proverbial best friends to being a foe like no other. This happens when the chemical causes chronic illnesses in workers, including cancer. Millions of dollars in settlements and legal fees can ensue, and a company can kiss its reputation for being a good steward to its workers goodbye.
How Easy is it to Switch?
In terms of cost and effort, it would be much harder to replace machines that use TCE solvent than to replace the solvent. There’s no equipment that’s specifically designed for TCE, which means a suitable replacement for the chemical can be “dropped in” the machinery without an appreciable change to the cleaning process. In fact, you may find that, even though a replacement has a better safety profile, it delivers more cleaning power than TCE.
In any case, there are four steps an industrial solvent supplier such as Ecolink can help you take to replace your carcinogenic TCE solvent: examine your requirements, identify possible TCE replacement cleaners, test solvents with a free samples, evaluate results, and finalize the order.
What is your TCE solvent used for? Examining the applications reveals important information, such as whether a dielectric formulation is required, whether aerosol is preferable, whether a high flash point is needed, etc.
Are there individual solvents or a line of solvents that offer the same efficacy as your TCE solvent but without carcinogenic effects? Among our TCE alternative cleaners, solvents from the FluoSolv® line often make excellent substitutes for TCE-based solvents.
After one or more TCE alternative cleaners are identified, we can send you a free sample of the solvent(s), so you can see how well they work. If a sample works well, you’ve found a replacement. If the sample leaves something to be desired, we can alter its formulation to create a custom solvent.
After a stock solvent or custom solvent proves it can meet your needs, you can order the solution in a small, as-needed supply, a bulk supply, or anything in-between. The formulation data for a custom solvent will be kept on file, so you needn’t have it created over again.
Contact Us Today
Ecolink specializes in providing industrial grade, eco-friendly cleaning solvents. To get started on identifying TCE replacement cleaners, please call us today at (800) 563-1305, or send us an email through our contact form. We look forward to helping you choose cleaners that are safer for your workforce, better for the environment, and easy to implement in your cleaning system.
N-Propyl Bromide Exposure Limits: What You Need to Know
/in N-Propyl Bromide/by Industrial DegreasersN-propyl bromide — nPB for short — is a chemical compound that has a two-sided reputation. On the good side, the compound is widely considered safer for the environment than many of the ozone depleting chemicals it’s replaced. On the bad side, “safer” doesn’t exactly mean “safe”.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Occupational and Safety Health Administration (OSHA) recognize that acute and chronic human exposure to nPB can cause health problems that range minor ailments such as watery eyes and upset stomach to incurable maladies such as neuropathy and cancer. Consequently, n-propyl bromide exposure limits have been imposed, with the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists’ (ACGIH) Threshold Limit Value (TLV) of 0.1 ppm being the gold standard.
Understanding PPM
PPM is an initialism that means “parts per million”. So, a degreaser that contains 0.1 ppm of n-propyl bromide is 0.00001% pure nPB. For those who took some upper level chemistry and math courses in high school or college, here’s what PPM looks like as a formulaic expression (courtesy of EngineeringToolbox.com):
Many industrial users of nPB need cleaning solvents that have a higher concentration of the compound than 0.00001%, hence the widespread movement to find nPB replacements based on the efficacy of the cleaning agents alone. That nPB has a deleterious effect on the health of workers who use it adds gasoline to the fire.
Finding nPB Replacements
Based on cleaning power, there are plenty of conventional, suitable replacements of n-propyl bromide. However, many of them pose the same problem as nPB: They’re not good for the environment and they pose those health risks that can lead to increased sick days taken at best and chemical injury lawsuits at worst.
The best option for nPB replacements is to break ties with conventional chemical providers, and work with a supplier of environmentally prefered and environmentally safe cleaning solutions, such as Ecolink. You end up with a solution that doesn’t hamstring your cleaning operations due to emission caps and potentially deadly effects on workers.
Ready for a Replacement?
If n-propyl bromide exposure limits make it practically impossible for your organization to use nPB in the necessary amount, stop exposing yourself to the financial stress of using a solvent that the EPA appears poised to officially add to its List of Lists that names chemicals that are too dangerous to humans and/or the environment to remain a viable solution for industrial and commercial cleaning needs.
Instead, contact Ecolink, and get started on selecting a cleaner that delivers the efficacy of n-propyl bromide, without the major health risks that could easily lead to increased sick days taken, workers compensation claims, and chemical injury lawsuits whose settlements decimate the bottom line.
To explore nPB replacement options that circumnavigate n-propyl bromide exposure limits, call us today at 800-563-1305, or use the contact form on your website. We look forward to helping you improve safety in the workplace and become a better steward to the environment!
EPA Chemical Regulations: How Do They Affect Businesses?
/in EPA Cleaning Regulations/by Industrial DegreasersIn the U.S., controlling chemicals that cause air pollution dates back to 1955, when the Air Pollution Act was passed. However, the scope of the act dealt more with researching air pollutants than controlling them. The level of chemical control we’re accustomed to today began with the Clean Air Act of 1963, and became increasingly science-based with the passage of the Air Quality Act in 1967, which improved upon research protocols from the Air Pollution Act.
Since its inception, the Clean Air Act has undergone a series of amendments to increase the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) regulatory control over hazardous pollutants. Today, the fruition of the act and similar, supporting ones can be seen in the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) consolidated List of Lists, which regulates or bans toxic chemicals that are classified as Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs).
How the Regulations Affect Businesses
EPA chemical regulations affect businesses in different ways, but regulations entail four aspects that practically every business that uses industrial chemicals must consider: chemical regulations, chemical bans, government fines, and safer replacement chemicals.
Some chemicals are regulated but not banned. This means that large-scale users can no longer use the chemicals in the former capacity. However, some small-scale users may be able to keep using the chemicals without a hitch, unless the chemicals receive heavier regulation or are banned, both of which are distinct possibilities considering the history of EPA intervention.
A banned chemical can’t be used by any entity in any capacity, not even by a small, single location business, such as an auto shop. When banned chemicals are used, it triggers a penalty from the EPA. The swiftness and severity of the penalty depends primarily on the severity of the violation regarding the volume of the banned chemical that’s deployed.
The government can legally close businesses that violate EPA regulations egregiously. However, most companies mend their chemically hazardous ways after being fined for using a banned chemical, or using a regulated chemical in a volume that violates emission caps. The fines are meant to sting, and they’re often large enough to discernibly impact the bottom line.
EPA chemical bans and regulations don’t appear from out of nowhere. The agency typically announces new additions to its List of Lists — and the level of control the chemicals will receive — at least several months in advance. This gives companies time to replace soon to be controlled chemicals with solutions that are environmentally preferred or environmentally safe.
Need Replacement Chemicals?
If EPA chemical regulations will make it impossible for you to use your current lineup of chemicals in the necessary capacity, Ecolink can replace them with solutions that deliver the same efficacy and are environmentally preferred or environmentally safe. In addition to supplying stock products, we also create custom solutions using toll blending.
To inquire about our products and services, or to place an order, please call us today at (800) 563-1305, or use the contact form on our website. We look forward to helping you find chemical replacements that are safer for your workers and the environment.
Why Use a Trichloroethylene Substitute From Ecolink?
/in TCE/by Industrial DegreasersTrichloroethylene — better known by its initialism, TCE — is a halocarbon popularly used as an industrial solvent, but it has a long history that includes various uses in different industries.
For example, TCE was used to extract vegetable oils in the 1920s. It temporarily replaced the anesthetics chloroform and ether in the 1940. And, as of 2000, the halocarbon was still used as an anesthetic in Africa. In the industrial sector, TCE’s legacy is as a highly effective degreaser.
TCE Today
Despite its varied history of use, one thing about TCE has remained the same: its toxicity to animals and humans. According to the Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry (ATSDR), TCE exposure is related to a variety of health ailments that range from relatively minor to severe. Occupational studies reported from ATSDR show effects of acute and chronic exposure to the halocarbon, signaling the need for a non-toxic trichloroethylene substitute.
Acute exposure is associated with: negative central nervous system (CNS) effects, decreased appetite, gastrointestinal irritation, headaches, disturbance of mucous membranes, and skin irritation. Chronic exposure is associated with more worrisome occurrences: reduced number of word associations, ataxia, decreased appetite, headache, short-term memory loss, sleep disturbances, and vertigo. The higher the exposure limits to TCE, the more the conditions prevail.
EPA Action
The dangerous health effects of TCE — only a small sample of which are listed above — moved the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to issue the following July 2015 news release: “EPA Reaches Agreement with Manufacturer to Stop Use of TCE in Spray Fixative Products Used on Arts and Crafts. EPA also taking regulatory action to reduce exposure to this chemical”
For industrial outfits that use a large volume of TCE and are familiar with how EPA regulations of hazardous chemicals work, the move to regulate the degreaser in industrial settings should become a priority. Businesses in the arts and crafts industry that use TCE as a spray fixative are already affected, but regulations typically proliferate to encompass all situations of industrial, high-volume use.
Replacements
The EPA’s recent regulation of TCE — limited though it may be — signals the perfect time to start looking for a trichloroethylene substitute. The EPA often moves slowly to ban dangerous chemicals, but it moves surely. Advanced warning of a scheduled regulation or ban is typically announced at least months in advance to give organizations time to find safer, suitable replacement solvents, such as the kind available from Ecolink.
Our Products
Ecolink manufacturers eco friendly, stock and custom trichloroethylene substitute solutions that offer as much efficacy — if not more — than the cleaner they replace. If one of our stock solvents doesn’t meet your requirements, we can produce a custom formulation that does.
To get started on selecting the right Trichloroethylene substitute for your degreasing operations, call us today at (800) 563-1305, or fill out the contact form on our website. We look forward to providing you with an environmentally preferred solution that’s better for the health of your workers.
Reasons to Start Searching for Acetone Alternatives
/in Acetone Cleaners/by Industrial DegreasersReasons to Start Searching for Acetone Alternatives
Acetone (a.k.a., propanone) is an organic compound that is a colorless, volatile, flammable liquid. Acetone was first formulated in the Middle Ages. Since then, it has gone on to be used in a variety of industrial and residential applications. There was a time when it seemed like almost every maintenance department and handyman’s garage contained a drum of acetone.
However, cetone, although still quite popular among businesses and consumers as a general cleaner, has fallen out of favor with many users due to the reasons below. If you use acetone, these are reasons to start searching for acetone alternatives that exhibit a better safety profile.
Negative Health Effects
According to healthline.com, “Acetone poisoning can occur when there’s an abnormally high amount of ketones [in the body]. This is a condition known as “ketoacidosis.” Metabolic diseases, such as type 1 and type 2 diabetes, can result in ketoacidosis if glucose levels aren’t properly managed.” Signs and symptoms of diabetic ketoacidosis include: nausea and vomiting,
Abdominal pain, weakness or fatigue, shortness of breath, and marked confusion.
Highly Flammable Formulation
Acetone has a low flashpoint of ?20 °C (?4 °F). This means that the cleaner should be used in environments that few if any ignition sources, and it should be stored in an environment where sparks, flames and unexpected arc flashes are absent or strategically prevented from contacting containers of acetone. Damage from a fire that acetone causes in a facility can be corrected. The same isn’t always true for workers who receive serious burns from the volatile compound.
State Reporting Requirements
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) doesn’t consider acetone to be a hazardous air pollutant (HAP). There’s no guarantee it won’t happen in the future. But, for now, there’s not an unavoidable legal reason to phase out the popular cleaner. However, certain states, such as Ohio, have reporting requirements for the use of acetone. Be sure to read your state’s literature on the use of acetone, especially before you deploy it in large quantities.
Federal Reporting Requirements
The compound is not considered a carcinogen by the National Toxicology Program (NTP), but other organizations have established reporting requirements for cetone use, including: the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). For some companies and organizations, the bothersome reporting requirements are motivation enough to start searching for acetone alternatives.
Searching for Acetone Alternatives?
If so, Ecolink has a wide range of cleaning solutions that deliver the same efficacy as acetone but lack some of the compound’s most undesirable qualities, such as a low flashpoint, potential to cause health problems due to exposure, and few, if any, regulated reporting requirements.
To get started on evaluating drop-in acetone alternatives, give us a call today at (800) 563-1305, or use our contact form. We look forward to providing you with an environmentally preferred cleaner in the form of a stock solvent or a custom formulation that’s tailored to your cleaning operations. Visit us today to find out more!