Substitution of a degreaser in a cleaning company

Number

303-EN

Section

General Section

Use

Sector

Other

Function

Cleaning agent

Process

Manual activities involving hand contact

Product category

washing ad cleaning products

Application

Substitution of a degreaser

Abstract

A cleaning services cooperative decided to try to substitute all its products containing hazardous chemicals by safer products Company managers substituted a degreaser containing butoxyethanol, a hazardous chemical that is neurotoxic and endocrine disruptor. The alternative product was chosen according to health criteria (toxicity) but certain environmental principles during its manufacture were also taken into account.

Substituted substances

2-Butoxyethanol

CAS No. 111-76-2 EC No. 203-905-0 Index No. 603-014-00-0

Chemical group

Glycol ethers

Classification: hazard statements

H331 Toxic if inhaled
H302 Harmful if swallowed
H315 Causes skin irritation
H319 Causes serious eye irritation

Other adverse effects

$adverseeffectsEN

Alternative Substances

Amides; coco, N-[3-(dimethylamino)propyl], alkylation products with chloroacetic acid, sodium salts

CAS No. 70851-07-9 EC No. 274-923-4 Index No.

Chemical group

Amides

Alcohols; C12-16, ethoxylated

CAS No. 68551-12-2 EC No. 500-221-7 Index No.

Chemical group

Alcohols

Sodium acetate

CAS No. 127-09-3 EC No. 204-823-8 Index No.

Chemical group

Sodium compounds; carboxylic acid salts

Reliability of information

Evidence of implementation: there is evidence that the solution was implemented and in use at time of publication

Reason substitution

skin/respiratory sensitizing

Hazard Assessment

Substance to be substituted: Butoxyethanol is not listed in the SUBSPORTplus Database. Alternative substances: The alternative product does not include any substance classified as hazardous or listed on the SUBSPORTplus SDSC list .

Description of Substitution

The substitution was implemented in a cleaning cooperative. Workers had certain environmental awareness since the company had a delivery section that promoted sustainable mobility through the use of bicycle and electric scooters. Female workers in the cleaning service used commercial products that contained dangerous chemicals. In 2000, concerned about the toxicity of the products they decided to substitute a degreaser containing butoxyethanol. The alternative product was chosen according to health criteria (toxicity) but certain environmental principles during its manufacture were also taken into account. Other criteria such as costs, recycling and possibility of purchasing concentrated amounts (to reduce the number of containers and transport costs) of the products were also assessed. The selected product is a degreaser manufactured by the company Innu-Science Canada. Additional good practices in the use of cleaning products (wearing protection gloves, avoiding unnecessary products or cleaning practices) were also implemented and promoted. One of the workers was affected by cancer after the substitution had been carried out. Her workmates believed that the cancer might be related to the previous use of toxic products.