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William & Patti Feldman
Few third party testing organizations have environmental standards that apply to chemicals used in electrical maintenance or construction in order to classify them as green. However, manufacturers need to conform to differing state guidelines regarding environmental health and safety and air quality issues (VOC regulations). The challenge is to provide products that meet the new "green" expectations but do not compromise performance or efficiency. It is up to manufacturers to market products that, in absence of clear third party standards, share attributes of an environmentally friendly product.
Given the void of standards with respect to solvent based degreasers, precision cleaners, and multipurpose lubricants, it is up to manufacturers to bring to market products that are greener than others commonly used for electrical maintenance applications.
One company, CRC Industries, has a full complement of products labeled Environmentally Preferred Products that, compared to other current products, have been specifically formulated to reduce or eliminate the environmental impact of their usage. To qualify as an EPP, each formula will not contain ozone depleting chemicals such as CFC and HCFC; SARA reportable ingredients such as Methanol and Xylene; any ingredient listed as a carcinogen; CA Proposition 65 ingredients; and hazardous air pollutants such as n-hexane, Toluene, 1,2-Butylene oxide.
According to the company, use of their EPP chemicals will reduce hazardous air emissions and hazardous waste generation, and help provide a cleaner, safer, healthier work environment while still meeting the electrical professional's performance expectations.
For example, CRC's Contact Cleaner 2000® VC is an aggressive precision cleaner designed to remove contaminants from electronic equipment. It meets all EPP criteria and is VOC compliant in all 50 states.
Photo courtesy of CRC Industries, Inc.
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