Spray cleaners, chemicals

Uses. Tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol is of interest in chemical and related industries where low toxicity and minimal environmental impact are important (134). For many years tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol has been used as a specialty organic solvent. The fastest growing appHcations are in formulations for cleaners (135) and paint strippers (136), often as a replacement for chlorinated solvents (137). Other major appHcations include formulations for crop sprays, water-based paints, and the dyeing and finishing of textiles and leathers. Tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol also finds appHcation as an intermediate in pharmaceutical appHcations. 

Whereas many of these technologies are not really new, they have never had the regulatory and economic justification for their use in metallizing. Each of these general methods has many variants. Some may be directed to waste treatment, some to recycle, and some to reclaim. An example is filtration, used to prevent release to air of zinc particles from flame spraying, microfiltration of cleaners to extend hfe, in combination with chemical precipitation to remove metal particles from wastewater, and many other uses. 

Over the last 30 years, ethanol s role as a solvent has increased sharply, while its role as a chemical intermediate has declined. In 1990, 59% of the 890 X 10 L demand was used for solvents and the remaining 41% was used for chemical intermediates (283). In 1960, solvents accounted for only 24% of the demand. The 1990 solvent uses were toiletries and cosmetics, 33% coatings, inks, and proprietary blends, 29% detergents and household cleaners, 14% external pharmaceuticals, 7% insecticides and disinfectants, 7% and miscellaneous, 10%. Ethanol demand for solvent appHcations has been fairly stable in recent years, growing at an average aimual rate of 2%. VOC regulations could impact its solvent use, particularly in areas like California, where ethanol in aerosols like hair spray and deodorants have come under scmtiny. 

All of our clothes were sent to a cleaners and we hired a different restoration company to come and clean everything in the house while we stayed in a hotel. I told the supervisor of this company that only nontoxic, natural products could be used in my house. She assured me that would be no problem, and that in three days I would be able to move back home. But when I walked in to inspect the house I could actually taste the chemicals they d used and my mouth and lungs burned. Someone from our insurance company found a spray bottle they d left behind in our rec room closet. That s how we found out they had used strong solvents. Eventually they came back and tried everything to make the house safe. They scrubbed with TSP and they scrubbed with vinegar. They tried everything in the world, but nothing worked. This house that had been custom built for us was now a toxic waste dump. 

An alternative approach is the use of megasonic energy [62]. Figure 17 depicts a schematic representation of Verteq s Goldfinger. This cleaner uses a quartz arm to which a megasonic transducer has been affixed. The arm is swept across the wafer close enough that DI water (and, if needed, chemicals such as HF) sprayed at the wafer form a meniscus between the wafer and... 

Nitrous oxide is difficult to categorize. Technically, it is an inhalant, yet there are several characteristics that set the drug apart from the typical volatile substances that inhalant abusers favor. First, N20 is not as readily accessible as hair spray, glue, household cleaners, and other off-the-shelf huffing chemicals of choice. Secondly, since nitrous oxide is an actual prescription anesthetic, it may have more perceived prestige among users who would look down at most volatile substance abuse as kid s stuff. ... 

Think twice before pouring this stuff down your drain or spraying in your oven. It s a strong, caustic substance that causes severe corrosive damage to eyes, skin, and mucous membranes, as well as the mouth, throat, esophagus, and stomach. Blindness is reported in animals exposed to as little as 2% dilution for just one minute. Skin is typically damaged by 0.12% dilutions for a period of one hour. Tests with healthy volunteers exposed to the chemical in spray from oven cleaners showed that respiratory tract irritation developed in two to fifteen minutes. Sodium hydroxide is included as a toxic chemical on the EPA s Community Right-to-Know list. It is also a controlled substance in the workplace, and OSHA has set limitations on concentrations in the air. 

Butoxyethanol and, to a lesser extent, 2-butoxyethanol acetate are found in a wide variety of industrial and consumer products. For 2-butoxyethanol, the exposure scenario of most concern to the general public is inhalation or dennal absorption while using household cleaners, metal cleaners, spray lacquers, quick-dry lacquers, enamels, varnishes, varnish removers, and latex paints. 2-Butoxyethanol acetate is used in nitrocellulose lacquer, epoxy and acrylic enamels, latex coatings, and some ink and spot remover formulations. Individuals employed in industries that make or use 2-butoxyethanol or 2-butoxyethanol acetate (e.g., hospitals and medical facilities, silk screen shops, furniture finishers, print shops, paint manufacture) are probably exposed to the highest concentrations of atmospheric 2-butoxyethanol or 2-butoxyethanol acetate. In the general population, people residing around certain chemical... 

Butoxyethanol may also be directly released to surface water when excessive amounts are sprayed or drift occurs during application of herbicides that contain this compound (Dow 1993). Direct release of 2-butoxyethanol to surface water may also occur during outdoor use of consumer products that contain this chemical (e.g., liquid cleaners, varnishes, paints) however, these releases are not expected to be significant. 

To be effective, such new materials must be durable and robust enough to withstand exposure to common chemicals found in fuels, oils, insecticides, cleaners, flavored coffee, and highly caffeinated and carbonated energy drinks salt spray dust and changes in heat and humidity - through months of harsh use. hi addition, many of these desired capabihties will require power to operate, so the suit may also harvest energy from available sources, such as a combination of body heat and motion or solar energy. 

Although these days many people have "self-cleaning" ovens, if your oven gets really dirty you may have to resort to one of the spray-on oven cleaner preparations sold in supermarkets. What evidence is there that such oven cleaners work by a chemical reaction ... 

General cleaners used in hairdressing salons contain isopropanol and ethanol. Hair spray contains ethanol and propellants which are mixtures of ethane, propane, isobutane, and butane. The reported study of chemical exposure in hairdresser salons found that although there were high concentrations of ethanol the detected levels were still below the NIOSH limit. The concentrations were substantially higher in non-ventilated salons (about 3 times higher) than those measured in well ventilated salons. Small concentrations of toluene were found as well, probably coming from dye components. 

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