nPB — also known as n-propyl bromide and 1-bromopropane — is a chemical compound that’s found widespread use in commercial and industrial cleaning operations over the past 20 years. Aside from its efficacy as a solvent, the spike in use of nPB is largely attributed to the compound’s better safety profile than many of the toxic solutions it replaced.
However, nPB itself is now a marked man, so to speak. Short-term and long-term health problems the solvent cause from acute and chronic exposure, respectively, are the primary factors driving the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to include the solvent on its List of Lists, which is sort of like the devil’s black book for the names of bad chemicals.
Effects of nPB on Humans
The effects of nPB on humans are well-chronicled by reputable studies. Short term exposure to the compound can cause acute health maladies such as respiratory distress, upset stomach, and dizziness. The main effect of these ailments is an increase in sick days taken, workers compensation claims if time off is extended, and, of course, deficits in productivity.
Chronic nPB exposure paints a darker picture. Workers subjected to years of nPB exposure can suffer permanent neurological damage, cancer, and, consequently, reduced earning capacity. The price of these outcomes for companies can be multi-million dollar settlements.
nPB Effects on Companies
Former big nPB users are obviously affected by not having government permission to use as much nPB as before, but if they persist in using the compound as before, there can be financial hell to pay. Expect increasing government fines that decimate the bottom line.
If that isn’t enough to prove you need a replacement; after numerous violations, prepare to have your facility shut down until compliance measures are implemented and approved. The measure will be thoroughly inspected on the government’s schedule, so you expect to wait awhile.
Weighted Exposure for nPB
The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) has set a Threshold Limit Value (TLV) of 0.1 ppm for nPB solutions. This means an aerospace paint stripper containing 0.1 ppm of n-propyl bromide is 0.00001% pure nPB.
Small-time users may be able to get by with such a diluted version of nPB, but large-scale industrial and commercial users are up a creek without paddle, as the saying goes. They need a solvent that has the same power, without toxic risks.
Contact Us for nPB Replacements
Replacing nPB with an eco friendly cleaner has three benefits: Your workers experience less toxic exposure, you can use the replacement in the volume you need, and you needn’t worry about upcoming EPA legislation regulating use of the new solvent.
To get started on replacing nPB with a safer solvent that has the same power, contact us today at (800) 563-1305, or use the contact form on our website. We look forward to providing stock or custom solutions that replace your nPB solutions with no difference to the cleaning process.
How to Replace NPB Aerosols Without Losing Productivity
/in N-Propyl Bromide/by Industrial DegreasersAlso known as 1-Bromopane and n-propyl bromide, nPB is a chemical compound that has been used increasingly for the past 20 years as a solvent for industrial work processes, particularly: aerosol glue applications, asphalt production, synthetic fiber production, and degreasing.
However, since the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a final rule that adds nPB to the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) list of reportable chemicals, users of the solvent must file TRI reporting forms that document release and waste management data for the solvent. Ultimately, this means large-scale users of nPB products can no longer use them in quantities required to effectively perform the work processes above, among others.
nPB Replacement and Productivity
Because the U.S. Department of Health’s National Toxicology Program (NTP) finds that nPB is “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen,” all users of the solvent have at least one good reason to replace it. However, for outfits for which nPB plays a crucial role in work processes, one of the greatest barriers to replacement is the temporary, potential loss of productivity that can occur when swapping out one industrial solvent for another.
Is it possible to eliminate a lag in productivity when you replace nPB aerosols? When your company or organization works with an experienced supplier of environmentally friendly and environmentally preferred industrial solvents, the answer is yes. Here is a simplified, four-part version how the ideal replacement process works:
Because nPB has demonstrated ill effects on human health, discontinuing nPB swiftly after receiving a replacement is the best option. You may not recoup your full investment in nPB if you don’t use your reserve supply. However, considering that financial setbacks that could occur from health problems that nPB exposure causes (i.e, workers comp claims, chemical injury lawsuits, and increased sick days taken) absorbing the loss could actually be the most cost effective option.
Need to Replace nPB Aerosols?
When you replace nPB aerosols, there are four things you need in the replacement products: solutions that have the same or greater efficacy as nPB, solutions that are available in aerosol form, “drop in” solutions that can be used to immediately replace nPB, and solutions that have a good safety profile for workers and the environment.
Ecolink can provide you with stock solvents or custom solvents that meet all three requirements, and supply them on an extended basis to support business productivity. In addition, by providing free solvent samples, we help you purchase our products with the utmost assurance that they will meet your solvent application needs that nPB once met.
If you need to replace nPB aerosols, give us a call today at (800) 563-1305, or use the contact form on our website. We look forward to helping you replace nPB aerosols without losing productivity.
Reducing Exposure to VOC Chemicals: 4 Strategies
/in Low VOC/by Industrial DegreasersVolatile organic compounds (VOCs) are chemical compounds that have a high vapor pressure at normal room temperature (roughly 72 degrees). Their high vapor pressure results from their low boiling points, which accounts for their swift transition from liquid to vapor, and gives them their “volatile” nature.
VOCs may be organic — a term we typically associate with healthy, sustainable products — but don’t let the word “organic” in volatile organic compounds fool you. Just as there are plenty of healthy organic substances, there are plenty of unhealthy ones, too — and VOC solvents often contain more than one of these dangerous substances.
That’s why we’re taking the time to discuss strategies you can take for reducing VOC chemicals in the workplace. By reducing VOC exposure, you’ll help prevent short-term effects of exposure to dangerous VOCs (e.g., headaches, dizziness, and respiratory distress), and help eliminate long-term effects of exposure (e.g., cancer, liver damage, and central nervous system (CNS) damage).
We’ll start with the best option — and usually the most cost effective one — first: replacing solvents that have a plentitude of VOCs with solvents that are used for reducing VOC chemicals. It’s the same as with solving other problems in the workplace: Removing the source of the problem is the most effective way to remove its consequences. Ecolink can supply you with solvents that are low VOC or have zero VOC content.
The next best solution for reducing VOC chemicals in terms of the health protection is to implement Level 3 PPE that features an aspirator that removes airborne contaminants. This level of PPE essentially encloses the worker in a protective envelope that prevents the inhalation of toxic vapors, as well as skin contact with them. PPE can be expensive, but, in the legal arena, it isn’t nearly as costly as the chemical injury lawsuits it helps to prevent.
Any company or organization that works with VOC solvents should have an air filtration system that removes VOCs from the air in the work environment. However, an air filtration system alone is rarely enough to prevent health problems that occur due to VOC exposure. The filtration system seldom captures VOCs immediately after they vaporize, which is often when the most intense level of exposure occurs.
If you must absolutely use a solvent that has medium to high VOC content, using it in a sealed parts washing system is typically the best-case scenario. But the scenario is dependent on using a parts washing system that automatically transfers the solvent to a waste trap, or condenses the solvent in a cooling chamber that prepares the solvent to be reused.
Who We Are
Ecolink is a longtime supplier of industrial grade, environmentally preferred and environmentally safe solvents that are used for various applications, from general degreasing to removing flux residue. In addition to supplying stock solvents, we also accept custom orders that address the needs of specific customers. To learn more about our products and services, please call us today at (800) 563-1305, or use the contact form on our website.
Aerosol Cylinders From Ecolink: Is It Time To Replace Your Cans?
/in Aerosol/by Industrial DegreasersCleaning agents are purchased in aerosol form for various types of cleaning operations, from performing dielectric degreasing on energized motors to removing everyday soils from work surfaces, to removing flux residue from heat treated metal. However, regardless of the application, industrial cleaning agents like the kind Ecolink supplies are typically purchased in aerosol form for one or more of the following four reasons.
Aerosol cleaners emit an exceptionally fine mist of cleaning particles that gravity distributes evenly across the surface to be cleaned. This action of dispersal is especially useful for cleaning parts whose complex geometries make them difficult — if not impossible — to effectively clean with solvents that are dispersed in a liquid consistency. Aerosol excels at cleaning surfaces that are spatially complex.
As long as they are properly formulated for evaporative action, aerosol cleaners naturally facilitate ultra fast evaporation due to the infinitesimally thin coating they apply to the surface that needs treatment. This action makes them ideal for cleaning parts that could oxidize from solvent oversaturation and parts that need to dry fast, so they can be quickly reinserted in the work process.
The infinitesimally thin coating that aerosol cleaners apply to solid surfaces also helps facilitate low-residue cleaning. As long as it is properly formulated, the solvent can drip dry in a matter of seconds, and leave the surface purged of soils while leaving it completely dry. When aerosols do leave behind a residue, its thin consistency can make the residue easier to remove.
Aerosol is exceptionally easy to use in small amounts, while perfectly distributing the cleaning agent across the surface. This is why aerosol solvents are frequently preferred for parts cleaning operations that are exceptionally limited in scope or are performed infrequently. Aerosol makes it easy to conserve solvent, which makes it easier to reduce solvent expense.
Aerosol Cylinders Instead of Bottles
In addition to being available in handheld aerosol bottles, our aerosol solvents are also available in aerosol cylinders that house significantly more aerosol in a single, non-flammable container than a conventional aerosol bottle (36 pounds of cleaner, to be exact, for a total weight of 46 pounds).
In addition to lowering solvent expense, using our aerosol cylinders instead of aerosol bottles helps simplify solvent storage, container disposal, and provides refined control over the solvent stream.
See An Aerosol Cylinder in Action
To see how easy our aerosol cylinders are to use, check out this video of one of the cylinders in action. Whether you use aerosol solvents in large quantities, small quantities, or somewhere in-between, our aerosol cylinders are both a cost saving opportunity and a way to simplify solvent use in terms of solvent dispersal, container storage, and container disposal (recyclable).
For inquiries, please call us today at (800) 563-1305, or use our contact form. We look forward to providing the option to acquire crucial aerosol solvent in convenient, easy to use cylinders.
Welcome to Anaheim or Bust!
/in Ecolink News/by Industrial DegreasersLet’s Get Ready to Rumble!
Welcome to the kick-off for “Anaheim or Bust!” The first ever social media competition between Georgia DECA chapters with rewards totaling $25,000. Ecolink is proud to sponsor this event in honor of our company’s 25th anniversary. Statistics will tell you that not many businesses make it to 25 years, so we feel it should be celebrated! We also feel that now is the perfect time to do something we’ve never done before while giving back to the great state of Georgia. Check out the map below to see all the participating schools and where they are located across the state.
These 19 programs cover 14 counties and total over 1250 students!
The competition is officially kicking off on 10/10 and will run through 11/11, 25 days to celebrate 25 years with $25,000 (Fortuitous dates to pick if we do say so ourself). The participating DECA programs include over 1250 students. These students will be tasked with increasing Ecolink’s following by networking outside of their program, generating shares and traffic to their schools unique home page and creating new content to share across all of our social media platforms.
Without further adieu, here are our competitors!
Brandon Kang will be representing the following 7 schools as their official Ecolink Ambassador !
These 6 schools ambassador is Rhace Smith!
Last but not least, these 6 will be represented by Cheryl Maafoh!
What Your Company Should Know About nPB
/in N-Propyl Bromide/by Industrial DegreasersnPB — also known as n-propyl bromide and 1-bromopropane — is a chemical compound that’s found widespread use in commercial and industrial cleaning operations over the past 20 years. Aside from its efficacy as a solvent, the spike in use of nPB is largely attributed to the compound’s better safety profile than many of the toxic solutions it replaced.
However, nPB itself is now a marked man, so to speak. Short-term and long-term health problems the solvent cause from acute and chronic exposure, respectively, are the primary factors driving the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to include the solvent on its List of Lists, which is sort of like the devil’s black book for the names of bad chemicals.
Effects of nPB on Humans
The effects of nPB on humans are well-chronicled by reputable studies. Short term exposure to the compound can cause acute health maladies such as respiratory distress, upset stomach, and dizziness. The main effect of these ailments is an increase in sick days taken, workers compensation claims if time off is extended, and, of course, deficits in productivity.
Chronic nPB exposure paints a darker picture. Workers subjected to years of nPB exposure can suffer permanent neurological damage, cancer, and, consequently, reduced earning capacity. The price of these outcomes for companies can be multi-million dollar settlements.
nPB Effects on Companies
Former big nPB users are obviously affected by not having government permission to use as much nPB as before, but if they persist in using the compound as before, there can be financial hell to pay. Expect increasing government fines that decimate the bottom line.
If that isn’t enough to prove you need a replacement; after numerous violations, prepare to have your facility shut down until compliance measures are implemented and approved. The measure will be thoroughly inspected on the government’s schedule, so you expect to wait awhile.
Weighted Exposure for nPB
The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) has set a Threshold Limit Value (TLV) of 0.1 ppm for nPB solutions. This means an aerospace paint stripper containing 0.1 ppm of n-propyl bromide is 0.00001% pure nPB.
Small-time users may be able to get by with such a diluted version of nPB, but large-scale industrial and commercial users are up a creek without paddle, as the saying goes. They need a solvent that has the same power, without toxic risks.
Contact Us for nPB Replacements
Replacing nPB with an eco friendly cleaner has three benefits: Your workers experience less toxic exposure, you can use the replacement in the volume you need, and you needn’t worry about upcoming EPA legislation regulating use of the new solvent.
To get started on replacing nPB with a safer solvent that has the same power, contact us today at (800) 563-1305, or use the contact form on our website. We look forward to providing stock or custom solutions that replace your nPB solutions with no difference to the cleaning process.