Tank cleaning is a process in which parts are placed inside a special tank that contains a cleaner for removing unwanted accumulations of dirt, oil, carbon and other substances that collect on parts. If your organization needs an environmentally preferred tank cleaner that efficiently removes accumulations that result from industrial work processes, New II Environmentally Preferred Parts Cleaner is an excellent option for the reasons listed below.
- MIL-PRF-680B Type II Compliant
MIL-PRF-680B Type II (a.k.a. mineral spirits) is a powerful cleaner for removing dirt, oil, carbon, and other substances from parts. However, the cleaner is also toxic to aquatic life, a skin irritant, and can cause drowsiness or dizziness in those who inhale its vapors. New II from Ecolink delivers the cleaning power of MIL-PRF-680B Type II without all of the dangerous drawbacks.
- No EPA Listed Hazardous Ingredients
New II is considered an “environmentally preferred” cleaner because it contains no ingredients that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officially considers “hazardous.” In fact, although common sense chemical precautions should be taken while using the cleaner, it can typically be applied without the need for extensive personal protective equipment (PPE).
- No Cleaner Residue
New II is also an excellent tank cleaner because it leaves no residue. Instead, the solution evaporates quickly and leaves parts perfectly clean. Tank cleaner that deposits residue essentially thwarts the cleaning operation, as the residue can draw accumulations of dirt and grime much faster than they would occur if parts emerged from the tank residue-free.
- High Flashpoint
New II contains no flashpoint, which means that it is inflammable under all foreseeable conditions. This makes the solution a great drop-in cleaner replacement for a variety of different parts washing systems. In addition, the cleaner’s non-flammable formulation makes it easy to store beside combustible materials without causing a fire hazard in the storage environment.
- Non-Corrosive Formulation
New II has undergone numerous corrosion tests that demonstrate its effectiveness for cleaning various substances, including high-grade plastic, high-grade rubber, and metallic alloys that are prone to oxidize. While you should always check to see if a cleaner would cause a negative reaction in the parts you must clean, a non-corrosive cleaner usually prevents such a reaction.
- No Unpleasant Odor
Another benefit of choosing New II as your go-to tank cleaner is that it produces no noxious odors. If fact, unlike many toxic cleaners that New II can replace, the cleaner is odor-free. In addition to making the tank cleaning environment more pleasant to inhabit, the cleaning agent’s lack of odor helps prevent acute, negative health conditions (e.g., respiratory distress, dizziness, watery eyes, and upset stomach) that odorous, toxic cleaners often cause.
Let Us Supply Your Cleaner
If your organization needs a tank cleaner to replace MIL-PRF-680B Type II or another tank cleaner that has a dubious safety profile, New II Environmentally Preferred Parts Cleaner is an excellent option for a drop-in replacement. For questions regarding the use of New II on specific materials, or to place order for the cleaner, please call us today at at (800) 563-1305, or fill out the contact form on our website. We look forward to supplying you with a safer tank cleaner.
Four Ways That Using Non Toxic Solvents Can Save Money
/in Solvents/by Industrial DegreasersIndustrial cleaning solvents can be categorized in several ways, one of the most important of which is whether they contain ingredients that are hazardous to human health or have a safe formulation that classifies them as non toxic solvents. Using the latter type of solvents can prevent a variety of negative health conditions that range from acute (e.g., upset stomach and dizziness) to chronic (e.g., nerve damage and cancer). In preventing these maladies, non toxic solvents save organizations money by helping them avoid the following situations.
Acute health conditions that toxic chemical exposure causes can linger for days after the source of exposure is removed. Consequently, it isn’t uncommon for employees who are exposed to the chemicals to take a higher number of sick days than employees who aren’t exposed. Sick days are more than hindrance to productivity in the workplace; they essentially amount to paying employees for not working.
When chemical-related injuries in the workplace lead to extended periods of sickness, the injured often file workers compensation claims. When evidence of injury is obvious and the injured hire an attorney, employers typically have no option but to pay the claim — and paying it can be costly indeed. In addition to paying for wage replacement, the employer often pays for claimants’ medical treatments that the injury necessitates, as well as vocational rehabilitation.
Also known as “toxic torts”, chemical injury lawsuits are frequently filed by employees who work with dangerous chemicals and suffer chronic, poor health as a result. Wikipedia defines a toxic tort as “a particular type of personal injury lawsuit in which the plaintiff claims that exposure to a chemical caused the plaintiff’s injury or disease.”
Depending on the extent of the plaintiff’s injuries and the level of pain and suffering experienced, settling a toxic tort could cost anywhere from a few thousand dollars to many millions more, not including attorney fees. Using non toxic solvents helps companies avoid these lawsuits and the tremendous impact they can have on the bottom line.
Using non toxic chemicals may still require workers to wear personal protective equipment (PPE). However, the “level” of PPE required, as defined OSHA, is often lower than the level of PPE required for working with toxic solvents. Consequently, organizations stand save money on PPE when they replace toxic solvents with non toxic ones. For an explanation of the levels of PPE, see this helpful resource that the United States Department of Labor provides.
Let Us Supply Your Non Toxic Solvents
At Ecolink, we specialize in providing non toxic solvents that have a better safety profile and the same cleaning power as the toxic cleaners they replace. We often think of non toxic solvents as being good for the environment — and they are. But solvents that contain no hazardous ingredients can also help organizations save money in the ways listed above, among others.
If your organization uses toxic solvents that need to be replaced, call us at (800) 563-1305, or refer to the contact page on our website, to get started on finding suitable replacements. We look forward to helping you save money through the use of non toxic solvents.
The Dangers of 1-bromopropane for Human Health
/in N-Propyl Bromide/by Industrial Degreasers1-bromopropane (a.k.a. n-propyl bromide) is high-strength cleaning solvent that plays a crucial role in the performance of numerous work processes, particularly: synthetic fiber manufacturing, vapor and immersion degreasing for metal, electronics manufacturing, dry cleaning, production of pharmaceuticals, and creating adhesives for laminates and foam.
However, despite the solvent’s effectiveness for these applications and others, it is highly ineffective when it comes to doing what you can to ensure the good health of your workforce. If your organization currently uses 1-bromopropane in any capacity, you should know about the dangers of 1-bromopropane for human health concerning short-term and long-term effects.
Short-term Health Effects
The dangers of 1-bromopropane for human health are often discussed in terms of chronic conditions that result from long-term exposure to the solvent. However, you are likely to see some distressing, short-term health effects in your workforce before workers display long-term health effects that result chronic exposure to the toxic agent. Common short-term health effects include:
At best, these conditions lead to an increase in sick days and lower productivity in the environment where 1-bromopropane is used. At worst, they can lead to permanent disability and reduced earning capacity, as defined by state and federal law. However, these outcomes are generally associated with exposure to 1-bromopropane over the course of months or years.
Long-term Health Effects
As mentioned above, the dangers of 1-bromopropane for human health also extend to long-term health effects, most notably cancer. The association with cancer is primarily why the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently ruled that 1-bromopropane be added to the National Toxicology Program’s (NTP) Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) list of reportable chemicals. In addition to cancer, long-term health effects from 1-bromopropane exposure include:
When they are experienced on chronic basis, these conditions generally result from permanent damage to the central nervous system (CNS). When exposure to 1-bromopropane leads to permanent, negative health outcomes, an employer can pay dearly in the form of satisfying workers compensation claims, settling legal liability lawsuits, and training new workers to replace employees who experience permanent disability due to 1-bromopropane exposure.
Selecting a Replacement
Despite the dangers of 1-bromopropane for human health, the solvent nonetheless plays an important role in work processes of many types of organizations, from synthetic fiber manufacturers to laminate manufacturers who use the toxic solution to form adhesive. Consequently, it’s important to replace the solvent with a solution that has a better safety profile and delivers the same efficacy of the 1-bromopropane product that it replaces.
This is where Ecolink enters the picture. We can supply you with alternatives to 1-bromopropane that are safer for humans but deliver the same effectiveness of 1-bromopropane for your crucial work processes. To get started on implementing a replacement, call us today at (800) 563-1305, or fill out the contact form on our website.
We look forward to helping making the work environment a safer place for your workers.
Choosing a Tank Cleaner: The Benefits of Using New II Parts Cleaner
/in Vapor Degreasing/by Industrial DegreasersTank cleaning is a process in which parts are placed inside a special tank that contains a cleaner for removing unwanted accumulations of dirt, oil, carbon and other substances that collect on parts. If your organization needs an environmentally preferred tank cleaner that efficiently removes accumulations that result from industrial work processes, New II Environmentally Preferred Parts Cleaner is an excellent option for the reasons listed below.
MIL-PRF-680B Type II (a.k.a. mineral spirits) is a powerful cleaner for removing dirt, oil, carbon, and other substances from parts. However, the cleaner is also toxic to aquatic life, a skin irritant, and can cause drowsiness or dizziness in those who inhale its vapors. New II from Ecolink delivers the cleaning power of MIL-PRF-680B Type II without all of the dangerous drawbacks.
New II is considered an “environmentally preferred” cleaner because it contains no ingredients that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officially considers “hazardous.” In fact, although common sense chemical precautions should be taken while using the cleaner, it can typically be applied without the need for extensive personal protective equipment (PPE).
New II is also an excellent tank cleaner because it leaves no residue. Instead, the solution evaporates quickly and leaves parts perfectly clean. Tank cleaner that deposits residue essentially thwarts the cleaning operation, as the residue can draw accumulations of dirt and grime much faster than they would occur if parts emerged from the tank residue-free.
New II contains no flashpoint, which means that it is inflammable under all foreseeable conditions. This makes the solution a great drop-in cleaner replacement for a variety of different parts washing systems. In addition, the cleaner’s non-flammable formulation makes it easy to store beside combustible materials without causing a fire hazard in the storage environment.
New II has undergone numerous corrosion tests that demonstrate its effectiveness for cleaning various substances, including high-grade plastic, high-grade rubber, and metallic alloys that are prone to oxidize. While you should always check to see if a cleaner would cause a negative reaction in the parts you must clean, a non-corrosive cleaner usually prevents such a reaction.
Another benefit of choosing New II as your go-to tank cleaner is that it produces no noxious odors. If fact, unlike many toxic cleaners that New II can replace, the cleaner is odor-free. In addition to making the tank cleaning environment more pleasant to inhabit, the cleaning agent’s lack of odor helps prevent acute, negative health conditions (e.g., respiratory distress, dizziness, watery eyes, and upset stomach) that odorous, toxic cleaners often cause.
Let Us Supply Your Cleaner
If your organization needs a tank cleaner to replace MIL-PRF-680B Type II or another tank cleaner that has a dubious safety profile, New II Environmentally Preferred Parts Cleaner is an excellent option for a drop-in replacement. For questions regarding the use of New II on specific materials, or to place order for the cleaner, please call us today at at (800) 563-1305, or fill out the contact form on our website. We look forward to supplying you with a safer tank cleaner.
Six Financial Pitfalls That Non HAPs Replacements Help Prevent
/in HAPS/by Industrial DegreasersAre 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
Industrial Cleaning 101: What Are Dielectric Fluids?
/in Electrical Contact Cleaning Solutions/by Industrial DegreasersAccording to Wikipedia, dielectric fluids are defined as fluids that “prevent or rapidly quench electric discharges [and] are used as electrical insulators in high voltage applications, [such as] transformers, capacitors, high voltage cables, and switchgear.” Dielectric fluids are primarily formulated to provide three benefits: electrical insulation, corona and electrical arc suppression, and cooling. Additional dielectric fluid benefits vary considerably from product to product.
Characteristics of High-Quality Dielectric Cleaners
Because cleaning energized and non-energized electrical equipment is a major niche in the industrial cleaning solvent industry, there is no shortage of suppliers to acquire dielectric cleaners from. However, not all solvents that contain dielectric fluids are created equal. In most cases, the best dielectric cleaners for the job feature the six important characteristics below.
For many companies, the most important characteristic of dielectric cleaners is high dielectric strength, as measured in MV/cm. High dielectric strength is especially important for cleaning applications that involve removing grease and grime from energized electrical equipment.
Aerosol fluids are ideal for cleaning precision parts that are tightly surrounded by other parts. Non-aerosol formulations are a great choice for cleaning components that are large enough to hand wipe. Companies with extensive dielectric cleaning needs often need both formulations.
The dielectric cleaning fluids you use should be formulated for the type of material you need to clean. For example, stainless steel electrical parts should be cleaned with ammonia-free fluids, as ammonia can cause the chromium in stainless steel to oxidize and have a tarnished look.
Dielectric cleaners that have a low flash point are better than ones that have a high flashpoint, but cleaners that have no flashpoint offer the highest level of safety. A non-flammable formulation lowers the possibility of starting fires while energized equipment is cleaned.
Low toxicity and non-toxicity aren’t performance qualities, but they are just as important. Dielectric fluids that fall into these categories are typically safer for workers to use and help companies avoid sizable, EPA-imposed fines that result from breaking set emission caps.
Identifying the best dielectric cleaning products means nothing if you can’t afford to use them in the necessary capacity. Ordering bulk quantities of dielectric fluids in liquid form is generally the most economical option. Ecolink can supply you with products that accommodate your budget.
In the Market for High-Quality Dielectric Cleaners?
If so, you’ve come to the right place. Ecolink has a rich history of supplying companies with industrial grade dielectric fluids that feature the characteristics above. In addition to being formulated for maximum cleaning power, our dielectric fluids are created with the environment the health of workers in mind. With us serving as your trusted solvent supplier, there is no need to use dielectric cleaning solutions that contain hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) ever again.
For more information about our dielectric cleaning solutions, call us today at (800) 563-1305, or use the contact page on our website. We look forward to meeting your dielectric cleaning needs!