We protect ourselves from hazardous fumes from welding fumes, for example, but how seriously do we take the dangers of other chemicals such as brake cleaner?
A greener production environment without compromising on quality?
Several cans of brake cleaner can be found in almost every manufacturing plant. The agent is multi-purpose, inexpensive to buy and has a powerful effect. This makes brake cleaner a popular product in a workshop or production environment.
However, there are also disadvantages to using brake cleaner. The risk from hazardous substances is sometimes underestimated. The effects are sometimes immediate (eye contact) but more often only noticeable in the long term and then the damage is irreversible.
Employees who work with hazardous substances are at risk. Every year, 3,000 people die in the Netherlands from diseases resulting from working with hazardous substances: nearly five times the number of traffic fatalities.
(Source:central government)
People are sometimes somewhat aware of the dangers, but more often the risks are grossly underestimated. The applicability, price and simplicity of use make it difficult to part with this multi-tasker. That is why at the end of last year the industry launched a campaign against unsafe and unhealthy brake cleaners: "How safe is my brake cleaner". Check your brake cleaner on www.checkjeremmenreiniger.nl
If carcinogenic ingredients are present in brake cleaner (or other cleaning and lubricating agents), the employer is required by law to replace it with a safer alternative,
BWBR0008498/2019-01-01/#Hoofdstuk4.4.2.
Fortunately, those alternatives are out there.
The choices we make affect the world in which our (grand)children grow up.
Why settle for harmful air quality in a workshop, where you would never accept it in an office space?
Objections to biological cleaners and lubricants debunked
Lesser efficacy of biological cleaners and lubricants
We see companies being skeptical about how green agents work compared to their chemical counterparts. This is by no means always justified. The development in green organic products is not standing still either. The Swedish brand Veidec is a great example of this. With a wide range of cleaning and lubricating agents and a range of tapes, adhesives and sealants, Veidec offers a green solution to many issues. A team of experts is working daily to develop new products.
Organic degreasers are more expensive
Often one Veidec product can replace a number of chemical (spray) cans. This provides benefits in the storage of these products. After all, there are no requirements for storage, such as a fireproof cabinet or a maximum amount of containers outside safe storage. You are also relieved of the administrative hassle involved in keeping chemicals in stock.
Two variables on lock tight replaces 7 chemical counterparts.
No PPE is required when using Veidec resources. This saves costs and time. For the safety aspect, you as an employer are no longer dependent on the (correct) use of PPE by the employee.
Veidec agents are economical to use. They also contain fewer propellants and other additives and more active product. So more value for money. Many sealants normally have a very limited shelf life after opening. Veidec sealants can be used for two months after opening. How much of your current sealant ends up cured in the trash? How much will you save if the open package has a shelf life of two months?
What does a green work environment give you?
A Chemical Shift to safer products makes you an (even) more attractive employer. You show that you take safety, working conditions and the environment seriously. Absenteeism will decrease, the cost of PPE will decrease, the (chemical) waste stream will be less, administrative handling will decrease. In short, a pleasant working environment.
Benefits for people, the organization and the environment.
More and more (government) companies are setting a maximum green working environment as a condition for cooperation. Make sure you are well prepared. This precondition is already current and it will only increase.
How Veidec implements sustainability in their products
Many active ingredients per product that ensures powerful action and economical use. Maintain proper dosage to take full advantage of this benefit!
Smart packaging reduces waste and transport volume; for example, by reducing the cap size of aerosol cans, 80% less plastic is used for the caps. Replacing the jerry cans with a bag-in-box principle saves 50% on plastic. The cardboard can be recycled with the waste paper.
Use of green propellants whenever possible. These propellants are created as a byproduct of bio-diesel production.
Amend products that come in aerosols such that they can be delivered in a spray bottle. This eliminates the need for propellant. Or convert a liquid to a paste with equal effect. No more atomized product gets into the air or around the application. So no environmental pollution and no inhalation of harmful fumes.
Some products are labeled biodegradable, which means that product that ends up not on the application but in the environment is completely degraded within 28 days.
Not every product is completely free of hazard symbols on the packaging. But it also helps if unwanted contact does not cause injury but (only) irritation.
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Ingrid Bronsema
Online marketer
As a marketer I like to think about the future of Metaaltechniek: how the market develops, how the demand for abrasives changes. What will still give us the right to exist in 20 years time? What is our strength and how do we build on it? In short, being operationally and strategically engaged, purposeful and result-driven. It doesn't take much to get me enthusiastic and then we'll get back together again!
