Is your Company Working on Pollution Prevention?

pollution preventionA lot of people enjoy planting vegetation, herbs, and other types of plants for many reasons, including aesthetics and, more importantly, food and nourishment. However, these human pleasures can be adversely affected when the water and soil becomes polluted by the ignorance and wasteful methods of industrial companies that are polluting the water and soil with chemical solvents. The problem resides when the harmful chemical solvents permeate into waterways and leach into ground water systems, which consequently leads to serious water and soil polluting, and, in turn, creates damaging on human and wildlife health, along with the health of the environment. Some chemical solvents that business use, mostly for cleaning parts, metals, and materials, are so hazardous that some have been identified as carcinogenic, which is deadly, and could cause reproductive defects and even damage vital organs. Because water and bountiful soil are the main ingredients of feeding agricultural productivity, the polluting of these two invaluable resources with excess nitrates and phosphates could kill vegetation, or even contaminate the food growth from the vegetation, which is consumed by humans, who are now unknowingly putting toxins in their bodies. In the past couple of decades, findings of nitrogen and phosphorus in soil stemming from chemical waste produced by industrial businesses has quadrupled.

How do industrial companies negate polluting our water, soil, and air with these contaminants? First, industrial companies need to identify preventive measures. Some preventive measures include using eco friendly, green alternative chemical solutions that minimize, and, in some instances, eliminate the use of toxins. Ecolink offers comprehensive information regarding eco friendly, green alternative chemical solutions to which industrial businesses can transition, especially if the company is currently using hazardous chemical components. In addition, there is far too much waste when using chemical cleaning solvents. Industrial businesses purchase far too much chemical solvents at a time, which wind up being wasted, dumped, and tossed, or even used in excess, which consequently leads to more water, air, and soil pollution. Industrial companies should look into chemical leasing options that directly reduce chemical waste and pollution. A leasing agreement allows industrial companies to receive only the necessary amount of chemical products, as long as that industrial business buys solely from the seller. This is an excellent method of preventing water, air, and soil pollution brought on by chemical solvents.

If your industrial company requires additional information on methods that help prevent pollution, as well as finding eco friendly, green alternative chemical solvents, consulting with Ecolink will lead to the identification of products, procedures, and resources that, together, provide successful ways to significantly reduce, and perhaps even eliminate pollution. Ecolink knows how to install methods that help prevent pollution.

Three Benefits of Chemical Management

Because many chemicals solvents that industrial businesses use to clean parts, metals, and materials are considered hazardous to both people and the environment, and which much of the contents are wasted due to excessive purchasing and a lack of chemical recycling protocol – among other reasons – having a chemical management group to assist businesses using chemical solvents is ideal. Chemical management groups can put in place operations and resources that prevent potentially dangerous situations involving chemical solvents. Among the several benefits of a chemical management group assisting your industrial business with chemical solvents, three stand out the most, and they are as follows:

Reduced Chemical Usage: Believe it or not, many industrial businesses will overbuy and overstock chemical solvents for the cleaning of their industrial products, which consequently leads to overuse. Chemical management groups help industrial businesses significantly reduce the use of chemical solvents by thoroughly investigating and evaluating the operations and procedures in place for the cleaning of parts and materials, and will then implement a program that significantly reduces chemical uses. The reduction in usage also minimizes wasted chemical solution.

Less waste is disposed: Briefly touched on in the first listed benefit, a chemical management group will implement procedures and programs that significantly reduce, and in some instances eliminate, chemical waste. A reduction of waste is accomplished by incorporating a chemical recycling program that catches all of the run off and potential waste of the chemical solution so that it can be reused for later parts and materials cleaning. This procedure is also advantageous because it provides industrial businesses an opportunity to save money, as less chemical solution purchases will need to be made due to the recycling of the chemical solvent that would normally be lost.

Less Inventory: The chemical management of your industrial company’s chemical solvent stock means better management of your inventory. With a chemical management program in place, less inventory means not purchasing as much quantity of chemical solvent (a reduction in business overhead), not having to hold as much chemical solvent in your facilities (more facility space), and less time is spent devoting to the procedures involved regarding inventory protocol (employees spend more time on other necessary operations).

A chemical management system is truly the best way to accomplish the three mentioned benefits described in this blog, which directly lead to several other serious advantages. It also puts in place an eco friendly, green alternative system that reduces harmful, adverse affects brought on by chemical solvents that can endanger people, wildlife, and the environment. Contact Ecolink to learn more about the benefits to installing a chemical management program for your business.

How can OSHA’s Chemical Safety Resources Improve Worker Safety?

Tens of thousands of workers become sick from exposures to the countless hazardous chemicals used in the workplace as part of a job function each day in the United States. These sicknesses sometimes result in long term, adverse health issues, and even death. OSHA, or the Occupational Safety and Health Administration – an offshoot of the U.S. Department of Labor – has recently launched two new web resources that should assist businesses with resources that will work toward keeping workers safe. chemical safety for workers

Numerous types of chemicals are suspected of being harmful to people and to the environment, and many believe that OSHA’s criteria concerning exposure standards are out of date, not updated frequently enough, and provide inadequate information on how to enable complete protection from the hazardous chemicals that OSHA tries to regulate in the workplace. Therefore, to combat the perceived issue of insufficient protective resources, OSHA has put in place new resources to ensure maximization of its criteria standards. The first resource OSHA has created is a toolkit to help identify safer, cleaner chemicals that can be used as an alternative to the more hazardous chemicals. This toolkit takes industrial businesses, along with its workers, step by step through the methods, tools, and guidance information to help significantly reduce, or altogether eliminate hazardous chemicals, as well as help industrial businesses make informed substitution decisions in the workplace by finding, and then transitioning to a safer chemical.

OSHA has also recently created another new web resource, known as the Annotated Permissible Exposure Limits, also called annotated PEL tables. Annotated PEL tables help enable employers to voluntarily adopt newer, advanced, and more protective workplace exposure limits. OSHA’s annotated PEL tables appoint mandatory limits on the amount, or concentration of a chemical substance that could be released into the air to protect workers against the health effects of these hazardous chemicals. Due to concerns about OSHA’s ability to police the numerous hazardous chemicals in the United States, OSHA promises to continue to enforce its mandated PEL list. However, despite OSHA’s adoption of its annotated PEL table, the consistent flow of new scientific data, along with research industrial experts and developments in technology indicate that, in most instances, the mandatory limits put forth are still not sufficient enough to completely protect the health of workers.

Despite the pessimists out there that say OSHA has not established enough guidelines and resources regarding the improvement of worker safety through the enforcement of stricter chemical safety procedures, it is impossible to discount the effort made by the regulating body to improve the situation of too many hazardous chemicals used by industrial businesses. Ecolink works toward helping the circulation of resources and information made available to combat the use of hazardous chemicals.

Replacement Strategies for Banned Chemicals

replacing banned chemicalsWith the help of newly found research and scientific studies on the inclusion of certain types of chemicals used in cleaning solvents, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is using this information to reduce the use of hazardous chemical solvents in the workplace and at home. If any chemical cleaning solvents are determined to be harmful, the EPA will start a notification process that will inform industrial businesses and the public who might be using harmful chemical cleaning solvents that an immediate cease and desist must commence no later than a certain date that will be provided, actuated by the EPA. A similar occurrence happened with a chemical solvent known as HCFC-225. Beginning on January 1, 2015, businesses that facilitate industrial cleaning solutions will no longer be lawfully allowed to use the chemical solvent HCFC-225, which is also called “AK225.” AK225 is a popularly used precision solvent used for cleaning industrial parts, metals, components, and materials, because of its efficiency for high performance cleaning. Known as “white paper,” this document, which will explain the termination of HCFC-225, will consist detailed information stating the reason why the EPA banned the chemical solvent.

The well detailed and abundantly informational white paper will also offer options for replacement cleaning solvents that will be listed on the document. In other words, your industrial organization will immediately have ‘a leg up’ in finding an alternative cleaning solution if it is currently using AK225. When implementing the plan to change to a different chemical cleaning solvent, options exist that include eco friendly, green initiative solutions that will clean as effectively as AK225 could, and also instill a safe solution that places people and the environment out of danger. If you, or your business, would like more information on eco friendly alternative cleaning solutions, Ecolink is a green initiative organization that can assist with the switch to a better, safer solvent.

Ecolink employs a team of scientists and experts in the chemical solvent industry that work toward uncovering hazardous chemical solvents that are still made available to industrial businesses and the public for cleaning purposes. In addition, through chemical research, Ecolink experts and scientists have developed eco friendly, green alternative cleaning solvent options that can take the place of your harmful cleaning solvent, and clean with as much efficiency as your previous model. Ecolink has plenty of information on eco friendly cleaning alternatives readily available, which means that little, to no lag time should happen when an industrial organization commits to switching to green initiative chemical cleaners.

Ecolink, through its brilliantly developed solvent replacement strategies, has made transitioning from one chemical solvent to a new, safer chemical cleaning solution simple. Industrial businesses, if willing to adhere to Ecolink’s strategies on solvent replacement, will never have to worry about problems related to conforming to the EPA’s set mandates and regulations ever again.

Call Ecolink today at 800-563-1305 to begin your chemical audit and begin saving money through chemical replacement and reduced chemical usage.

 

Cleaning with Chemicals that will Make the EPA Smile

epa complianceThe Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, creates industry wide mandates regarding the need for using chemical cleaning solvents that do not put in danger workers, people, or the environment. The EPA calls this list of rules, or guidelines, MACT standards (Maximum Achievable Control Technology). MACT standards requires all industrial organizations, and any business that engages in industrial cleaning, to test its chemical solvents and verify whether the chemical compounds in the solvent ingredients emit hazardous toxins into the environment. If the outcome of the test does not satisfy MACT specific emissions limits, then the organization must cease and desist from using the chemical cleaning solvent. The EPA researches and tests chemical compounds commonly used in cleaning and degreasing solvents, and tests those solvents against emissions levels that have been determined safe for people to use, and for environmental exposure. The purpose is to reduce both health and environmental risks associated with the use of any chemical compound found in cleaning solvents. Only when the EPA concludes that industrial organizations are conforming to lower emissions standards will it be able to rest easy and smile.

Optimum emissions levels to which industrial businesses must adhere, according to MACT standards devised by the EPA, are based on the average of low emissions output achieved by the best performing industrial facilities. During the process of determining what is achievable, based on what the best performing industrial facilities are accomplishing, the EPA investigates areas such as clean processes, control devices, and work practices. At this point, the EPA can set the average standard based on the results, or, if it deems necessary, can establish a more stringent standard, for which it reserves the right. For the EPA to make such a move toward more stringent policies, changes in economics, environmental scenarios, and public health issues must be in play to force such a move.

The EPA recognizes the work that organizations like Ecolink perform, because these kinds of organizations lend assistance to not only informing both industrial organizations and the general public, but also provide solutions that promote the swift transitioning to an eco friendly, green alternative chemical cleaning solutions with low emissions – which makes the EPA very happy. Developing and administering standards that reduce toxic emissions found in chemical cleaning agents is the name of the game, and the EPA is thrilled that organizations like Ecolink aid in achieving improved safety standards. This collaborative approach should continue achieve successes related to the toxic reduction of industrial cleaning solvents.

Industrial businesses that choose to consult with Ecolink are able to identify additional measures that help protect public health and the environment from toxic chemicals found in industrial cleaning solvents. Ecolink has proven successful at enforcing EPA protocol by locating safer industrial cleaning solvents, and helping industrial companies switch to eco friendly, green alternative cleaning solutions.