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TURA in Massachusetts: Leading the Chemical Industry Towards a Greener Future

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TURA, NPB replacementTURA stands for the Toxics Use Reduction Act, which was passed into law by Massachusetts State Legislature in 1989. Negotiated by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), the law was enacted to promote the reduction of both the amount of toxics used and the toxic byproducts generated by businesses. We will outline the goals and consequences of this act for businesses while upcoming articles will address replacement options for the hazardous substances being affected.

Goals of the Toxics Use Reduction Act’s Program

The TUR Act was established with the objective of promoting safer and cleaner production while also enhancing the economic viability of Massachusetts businesses. Toxics use reduction focuses on the use of toxic chemicals and the generation of wastes in the manufacturing process, but not on the management or treatment of wastes after production.

TURA is intended to be an efficient process that would produce less waste. Massachusetts companies are required to form a plan to reduce, avoid, or eliminate the use of toxic chemicals. Each yearly cycle this plan must be recertified and noted with new efforts to improve toxics use reduction. Additionally, businesses must limit the generation of hazardous waste, emissions, and by-products to the land or air per unit of product manufactured.
Want to know more? Click here for a complete list of TURA chemicals or visit the MassDEP website.

Upcoming TURA Deadlines

The MassDEP is exercising an amnesty period for late applications and will accept overdue TURA annual chemical use reports until July 1, 2016. Those companies utilizing this amnesty program will receive a warning letter and will be required to pay one year of past due chemical use and the $1,000 administrative late fee. Businesses are required to submit Form S’s for as many years as they owe a report on the chemical, up to a maximum of three.

Each Massachusetts facility subject to TURA will need to update their TUR Plans for the 2016 calendar year and submit them by July 1st. Below are updates to the list of high hazard substances (HHS) to be reported on TURA Form S in 2017.

Added the following HHS with a reporting threshold of 1,000 pounds:

  • 1-bromopropane (n-propyl bromide, nPB)
  • Hydrogen fluoride
  • Cyanide compounds
  • Dimethylformamide (DMF)

Lowered the reporting threshold of these HHS to 1,000 pounds:

  • Trichloroethylene (TCE)
  • Cadmium and cadmium compounds
  • Perchloroethylene (PCE)
  • Hexavalent chromium compounds
  • Formaldehyde
  • Methylene chloride

Need Help Cutting Back on Toxic Output? Contact Our Knowledgeable Team for Advice

Ecolink offers many innovative products that comply with TURA standards by containing fewer harmful substances. We strive to provide clean chemical solutions for a greener future, which is why we offer chemical management services to our clients to help them comply with ever-changing environmental health and safety standards. If you would like to know more about chemical management, click here. You can visit our Product List to see what we offer or contact us at (800) 563-1305 and Tura@ecolink.com to speak with our trusted advisors.

Degreasing Agents – Eco Friendly Solutions

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safety solventsDegreasers are a key solution for those whose enterprise works heavily in industry. Degreasing agents are chemical compound solutions that are used to dissolve dirt, oil, grease, rust, stains, and any type of sticky or adhesive leftover residue from a metal, part, or material. They are integral in the industrial process, as a part cannot be used unless it is free from substances that could negatively impact the way those materials are supposed to operate and function. Business owners know all to well how dire a reliable and effective degreasing agent is, and that is why, even though there is a worldly push for companies to find and incorporate eco friendly solutions within their business, business owners are afraid to change to something that might not work. If a business owner has to shut down operation because a part of material is not working they way it should, abysmal ramifications are soon to follow, all of which will seriously hurt production and revenue. For those quick to judge companies who have made the eco friendly switch, think about what would happen if you had a business, and it was shut down because you made a change in the daily operations when everything was functioning properly before the transition. It is entrepreneur suicide.

Green Alternative Degreasing Agents

This is why industrial solution companies such as Ecolink are thriving today. Ecolink can help an industrial business owner every step of the way – providing information on green alternative degreasing agents, finding the exact eco friendly cleaning solution that will continue the success of your operation, and continue to provide support in the event that assistance is needed in the future. Ecolink has been helping companies transition to eco friendly solutions for years, with an unbelievable success rate.

To industrial business owners: Ecolink understand the hesitance to transition from a formula that has in place for years, sometimes decades, with a one hundred percent performance record. We have conducting tireless research concerning degreasing agents and eco friendly cleaning solutions, and can provide you with overwhelming research and information based on quality studies from world-renowned scientists and professionals. Ecolink promises to find you the right degreasing agent and eco friendly solution that will prove to be as effective, if not more effective than the chemical agent you use now.

Eco Friendly Cleaning Solvents for Business

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It is 2016, and in case you have not noticed, there is a heavily backed and quite popular movement to make sure companies are doing whatever is necessary to keep our planet clean. As a result, there is considerable effort to make sure that companies are implementing green alternatives wherever they can. Ignoring the ecofriendly movement isn’t even an option anymore, because you can easily expect extreme negative publicity, especially if there are indeed options for your business to where you could transition to ecofriendly solutions. The fact of the matter is that people are becoming aware how much harm can come from the way certain businesses are operated. Whether it be polluting or contaminating our water sources (rivers, lakes, the ocean) infecting the air =with pollutants and adding to the rapid disintegration of our ozone, or killing or plants, trees, and vegetation, people are angry, inciting others to join their cause, and are doing something about it—as well they should.

Industrial businesses can be one of the bigger culprits to leaking hazardous materials into our planet. As it pertains to businesses that use cleaning solvents and degreasers to rid parts, metals and materials of oil, dirt, grime, rust, and leftover adhesive residue, there are available ecofriendly cleaning solvents that will create a safer environment in your place of business, and will reduce the risk of exposure to hazardous gases and liquids of your workforce. The problem is, many industrial business owners fear that green alternatives mean a less effective cleaning and degreasing solution, which could damage their output, productivity, and reputation. Fortunately this is not true. In fact, there are new simpler ways to improve the use of degreasing agents for virtually any business manufacturing process. Good chemical manufacturers do exist that can help you makes changes and learn more about how truly effective and consistent ecofriendly cleaning solvents are.

Ecolink has been in the businesses of providing ecofriendly cleaning solutions for many years. We are ready to assist you with finding a successful green alternative to the chemical compound agent you currently have in use. Our professional team can help you eliminate chemical waste and find solutions that can help your company save time, money by cleaning your product faster, easier, and often cheaper. Our company’s professionals are standing by and are ready to help you transition to an ecofriendly cleaning solvent for your business, so you can eliminate your carbon footprint.

MSDS Solvents – Discover Green Cleaning Solutions

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The benefits of using a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) goes a long way to ensuring you are using a safe chemical product. A Material Safety Data Sheet is a detailed document containing specific information on the potential hazards of using certain chemically induced products. Some of these hazards include flammability, health risks, the reactivity of a product (is it stable of unstable, will it combust), as well as any negative environmental effects. The MSDS document also contains information of the use, storage options, proper handling, and emergencies procedures is something should happen while maintaining the chemical product—all information here is related to the hazards of the material. The supplier or manufacturer of the chemical product prepares material Safety Data Sheets, so the user can be properly informed about the product he or she is about to use.

Safety-firstEveryone who handles potentially dangerous chemicals needs an MSDS because it help them find green solutions or alternatives, instead of having to expose themselves to dangerous and hazardous chemicals. For example, in Canada, every material that is controlled by the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) must be accompanied by a Material Safety Data Sheet that is specific to each individual product or material. Employers need to make sure that all controlled chemical products have a constantly updated MSDS. This is because the marketplace is seeing more green solutions arriving on the scene, which means the amount of safer chemical alternatives is increasing.

MSDS Solvents assist in the finding of green solutions, which is a practice all individuals and companies should explore if they are in the habit of using chemical solvents. Safety should be the primary factor, especially when the green solutions coming out are proving to be as capable ­– usually even showing to be a more efficient alternative – than older industrial chemical solvents.

Ecolink is a company that specializes in finding green solutions for people and companies who regularly use MSDS solvents. Call Ecolink to learn more about MSDS solvents and how to find green solution in case you or your company happen to be using hazardous and unsafe chemical materials.

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