A Method To Determine By: Jack Fellman Risk Which chemical is safer to use? In Cleaning Chemicals Greener Chemistry Associates LLC was started by Jack Fellman in early 2008 to help companies understand the principles of green chem-istry, identify greener alterna-tives to chemicals used in the workplace and reduce ship-ments of hazardous waste through recycling laboratory and cleaning chemicals onsite by distillation. Greener Chemistry Associates is affili-ated with Amsan, a leading supplier of janitorial and cleaning products. For more information about Risk Assessment Templates, Amsan and distillation, please contact Jack Fellman at JFellman@GreenerChemistry LLC.com or by calling 603-487-2235. T The method proposed herein has been in use for more than a year, and facility managers and building service contractors (BSCs) have found it helpful in their institutions. Product risks are determined for current prod-ucts and candidates for replacement. The results are quantifiable. The method has two main parts: The first calcu-lates the intrinsic risk of the product by analysis of the individual hazardous components; the second calculates the potential risk of exposure by deter-mining the concentrations of hazardous compo-nents in the diluted working solution. Beyond Water Water is the safest chemical to use for cleaning. Unfortunately, water only removes a limited number of contaminants from floors and other hard surfaces. In these instances, chemicals are added to water to improve cleaning results. Some common cleaning chemicals were devel-oped by chemical companies for industrial appli-cations where the risk of exposure is minimized by localized ventilation. These chemicals, however, are less than ideal for cleaning hospitals, schools and universities or other areas where effective ventilation is not available. To remedy this situation, new companies have started to act as independent third parties to cer-tify formulations and ensure that they comply with for more info Visit www.cmmonline.com and type in search keyword: Green . For more information on related products, visit www.cmmonline.com , select SUPPLIER SEARCH from the main navigation bar, and enter keyword: Chemicals . minimal product safety standards. Newer industry standards have been estab-lished to prevent the use of certain hazardous chemicals. While these measures are very helpful, they do not completely solve the problem. Third-party certified cleaning products may con-tain hazardous ingredients with U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) permit-ted exposure levels in the range of 1-10 parts per million (ppm), indicating a high degree of hazard. Use of these highly hazardous products in build-ings with less than ideal ventilation can create unacceptable potential exposure risks This notion will be illustrated later. There are products — such as heavy-duty clean-ers and degreasers or floor finish removers — that have been certified, but are not “safe” for use. These chemistries have been in use for decades because they work quickly and effective-ly — but not safely. New products — greener alternatives — are available for these difficult applications with great-ly reduced risks to users, building occupants and the environment. They may take longer to work in some instances, but they are safer and their effective-ness is comparable. Adjustments in the floor finish to accommodate a safer remover can be made to help with the transition while new, improved products are www.cmmonline.com 29
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