Low odor does not mean low hazard - mastic removers in asbestos abatement

So, I recently completed a cursory review of several different low-odor mastic or adhesive removers that were proposed for use in an asbestos abatement project.

Like many safety professionals, I always specify "low odor" or "no odor" chemicals to be used, but I had not previously encountered the Safety Data Sheet (SDS) for most of the mastic removers that were proposed by the contractor. I'd heard anecdotal evidence that the soy-based mastic removers were less effective for asbestos abatement, but understood they were intended to be an environmentally-friendly option.

I was not surprised to find that most of the SDS were wholly unhelpful in assessing the hazards associated with the chemicals. Many of them were one page, in tiny font, and had not been converted to the new Globally Harmonized System for the Classification and Labelling of Chemicals - Safety Data Sheet required format yet.

Based on the lack of information, I threw together a table for each proposed chemical to evaluate them and did some preliminary research on the hazards of each mastic remover. 

The following mastic removers were evaluated:

• AMR 100 Mastic Remover
• Neugenic 4175 Mastic Remover
• Sentinel 770 Odorless Degreaser and Adhesive Remover
• Sentinel 909 Soybean-Based Mastic Remover and Degreaser
• Sentinel 805 Envirowash
• Chem-Safe® Clear 57770 No Odor Mastic Remover
• Chem-Safe® 310-C Soy-Based Mastic Remover
• Concentrate Division – Natural FR Concentrate (Olyolefin Compounds) – SDS not widely available on the internet

This evaluation is provided below and should not be construed to be "official" occupational or environmental health guidance; readers are encouraged to do their own assessment and research to evaluate the hazards associated with these chemicals. Hopefully other safety and health professionals may find this useful in conducting asbestos project design activities when deciding which mastic remover should be used at an owner's site.

Also keep in mind that the hazard statements and precautionary statements were adapted from the manufacturer's existing language on the SDS. Too little data was present on the percent (%) of each chemical present to conduct a full Hazard Communication Standard Assessment and verify the needed pictograms or hazard classification. 

Product Name	GHS Classification	Pictograms	Hazard Statements	Precautionary Statements	Ingredients	Health Effects
AMR 100 Mastic Remover	Flammable liquid, Category 4 Acute Toxicity: Oral, Category 4 Acute Toxicity: Inhalation, Category 4 Acute Toxicity: Dermal, Category 4 Skin irritation, Category 2 Eye irritation, Category 2A Aspiration hazard, Category 1 STOT, Category 3 (narcotic effects) Chronic hazards to the aquatic environment, Category 2	Environment Health Hazard Exclamation Mark	H315 – Causes skin irritation. H304 – May be fatal if swallowed and enters airways. H336 – May cause drowsiness or dizziness. H411 – Toxic to aquatic life with long-lasting effects. H227 – Combustible liquid. H302 – Harmful if swallowed. H312 – Harmful in contact with skin. H332: Harmful if inhaled. H319 – Causes serious eye irritation.	P210 – Keep away from flames and hot surfaces. No smoking. P280 – Wear protective gloves/eye protection/face protection. P403 – Store in a well-ventilated place. P235 – Keep cool. P264 – Wash skin thoroughly after handling. P362 – Take of contaminated clothing and wash before reuse. P261 – Avoid breathing gas/mist/vapor/spray. P271 – Use only outdoors or in a well-ventilated place. P233 – Keep container tightly closed.	64742-47-8 Petroleum Distillates, Hydrotreated Light (low odor paraffinic solvent / deodorized kerosene) ________ 111-76-2 2-butoxyethanol	Inhalation: Dizziness, Headache, Drowsiness, Nausea, Unconsciousness.  Skin: Dryness. Eyes: Redness. Ingestion: Cough, Diarrhea, Sore Throat, Vomiting. The vapor is seriously irritating to the eyes. The substance may cause effects on the central nervous system. Exposure to high concentration of vapors may result in unconsciousness. Swallowing the liquid may cause aspiration/chemical pneumonitis.
Neugenic 4175 Mastic Remover	Flammable liquid, Category 4 Eye irritation, Category 2A STOT, Category 3 (narcotic effects) Aspiration hazard, Category 1	Exclamation Mark	H227 – Combustible liquid. H319 – Causes serious eye irritation. H336 – May cause drowsiness or dizziness. H304 – May be fatal if swallowed and enters airways.	P210 – Keep away from flames and hot surfaces. No smoking. P264 - Wash skin thoroughly after handling. P280 - Wear protective gloves/ eye protection/ face protection. P261 – Avoid breathing gas/mist/vapor/spray. P271 – Use only in a well-ventilated area/outdoors.	69430-33-7 Aliphatic hydrocarbon blend ________ 112-34-5 Diethylene glycol butyl ether	Inhalation: Dizziness, Headache, Drowsiness, Nausea, Unconsciousness.  Skin: Dryness. Eyes: Redness. Ingestion: Cough, Diarrhea, Sore Throat, Vomiting. Do not induce vomiting. May cause aspiration pneumonia. CNS depressant.
Sentinel 770 Odorless Degreaser & Adhesive Remover	Flammable liquid, Category 4 Eye irritation, Category 2B Skin irritation, Category 3 STOT, Category 3 (narcotic effects) Aspiration hazard, Category 1	Exclamation Mark	H227 – Combustible liquid. H316 – Causes mild skin irritation. H320 – Causes eye irritation. H336 – May cause drowsiness or dizziness. H304 – May be fatal if swallowed and enters airways.	P261 – Avoid breathing gas/mist/vapor/spray. P271 – Use only outdoors or in a well-ventilated place. P210 – Keep away from flames and hot surfaces. No smoking. P280 - Wear protective gloves/ eye protection/ face protection. P264 – Wash skin thoroughly after handling.	69430-33-7 Aliphatic hydrocarbon blend	Causes eye irritation, may cause skin irritation with prolonged skin contact. Irritation of ENT and signs of CNS depression. May experience additional breathing difficulties if impaired lung function, due to irritant properties of chemical. Do not induce vomiting, may cause aspiration pneumonia.
Sentinel 909 Soybean-Based Mastic Remover	Eye irritation, Category 2B Skin irritation, Category 3	N/A	H316 – Causes mild skin irritation. H320 – Causes eye irritation. H304 – May be fatal if swallowed and enters airways.	P261 – Avoid breathing gas/mist/vapor/spray. P271 – Use only outdoors or in a well-ventilated place. P280 - Wear protective gloves/ eye protection/ face protection. P264 – Wash skin thoroughly after handling.	Emulsified methyl esters (no hazardous ingredients with CAS#)	Causes eye irritation, may cause skin irritation with prolonged skin contact. Irritation of ENT and signs of CNS depression. May experience additional breathing difficulties if impaired lung function, due to irritant properties of chemical. Do not induce vomiting.
Sentinel 805 Envirowash (used after 909 to clean surfaces)	Eye irritation, Category 2B Skin irritation, Category 3	N/A	H316 – Causes mild skin irritation. H320 – Causes eye irritation.	P261 – Avoid breathing gas/mist/vapor/spray. P264 – Wash skin thoroughly after handling. P280 - Wear protective gloves/ eye protection/ face protection.	10101-89-0 Trisodium phosphate dodecahydrate (1.2%)	Causes eye irritation, may cause skin irritation with prolonged skin contact. Irritation of ENT and headaches. May experience additional breathing difficulties if impaired lung function, due to irritant properties of chemical. Do not induce vomiting.
Chem-Safe® Clear 57770 No Odor Mastic Remover	Eye irritation, Category 2B Skin irritation, Category 3 Aspiration hazard, Category 1	Exclamation Mark	H315 – Causes skin irritation. H304 – May be fatal if swallowed and enters airways. H320 – Causes eye irritation.	P261 – Avoid breathing gas/mist/vapor/spray. P264 – Wash skin thoroughly after handling. P280 - Wear protective gloves/ eye protection/ face protection.	64742-47-8 Petroleum Distillates, Hydrotreated Light (low odor paraffinic solvent / deodorized kerosene) ________ 112-34-5 Diethylene glycol butyl ether	Causes eye, skin, and respiratory irritation. Do not induce vomiting, may cause aspiration pneumonia. Primary symptoms = headache, dizziness, and nausea.
Chem-Safe® 310-C Soy-Based Mastic Remover	Eye irritation, Category 2B Skin irritation, Category 3	N/A	H316 – Causes mild skin irritation. H320 – Causes eye irritation.	P261 – Avoid breathing gas/mist/vapor/spray. P264 – Wash skin thoroughly after handling. P280 - Wear protective gloves/ eye protection/ face protection.	112-34-5 Diethylene glycol butyl ether (5-12%) ________ Soy-based nonhazardous component	Causes eye, skin, and respiratory irritation. Do not induce vomiting. Primary symptoms = headache and dizziness.
Concentrate Dvision Natural FR Concentrate	Eye irritation, Category 2B Skin irritation, Category 3	N/A	H316 – Causes mild skin irritation. H320 – Causes eye irritation.	P261 – Avoid breathing gas/mist/vapor/spray. P264 – Wash skin thoroughly after handling. P280 - Wear protective gloves/ eye protection/ face protection.	None listed as hazardous	May cause mechanical skin irritation (pellets) and eye irritation if dust from pellets gets in eyes.

Upcoming Posts + Making ART Using Makeup!

I'm blessed to have been insanely busy over the last few months - many interesting projects have been completed or are underway.

There are several safety- and industrial hygiene-related posts I am finishing up, look for them soon. I'm working on posts about eyewash and safety shower best practices, hazardous waste management, and hospital safety and health management.

I tried an experiment to make art using only a No. 2 pencil and makeup (liquid foundation, powder, eyeliner, lip liner, and eye shadow). I wanted to see if the image would turn out looking like a painting or not. I'm pretty pleased with the results.

Here's what it ended up as:

Portrait using only a No. 2 pencil and commercially available makeup.

Most of my art is usually black and white portraits with graphite pencils or manga-style cartoons with markers and colored pencils. I don't usually paint. Art is part of my personal employee wellness program.

Spoggles Redux

They say that imitation is the highest form of flattery, right?

A friend of mine recently noted that if you search for "spoggles" on Google, my blog post from April 23, 2013 was one of the first things to pop up. This was a very exciting thing - I thought I would test it out today.

Imagine my surprise when a FlexiCrew blog post from August 27, 2013 popped up as the first item on Google. 

Me: "Dang, I'm not the first one anymore! Let's see what they have to say. I'll bet mine is better! Mine has cartoons!"

I clicked on their post and immediately realized most of the post was very familiar, because I wrote it last year. I almost always cite my sources or link to original works when "borrowing" material from other blogs or websites. I guess it's silly of me to expect the same effort from other bloggers.

See below for the most obvious examples.

Theirs: So, for those of you not in the environmental health and safety field, Spoggles is an industry term for safety eyewear designed to prevent airborne dust and debris from getting in our eyeballs. Airborne dust and debris is a leading cause of eye injuries in today’s workplaces. Spoggles = Safety + Goggles, with a random “p” thrown in there since “sgoggles” or “sagoggles” or “safoggles” sound even weirder."

Mine: So, for those of you not in the environmental health and safety field [...] Spoggles is an industry term for safety eyewear designed to prevent airborne dust and debris from getting in our eyeballs. Airborne dust and debris is a leading cause of eye injuries in today's workplaces. Spoggles = Safety + Goggles, with a random "p" thrown in there since "sgoggles" or "sagoggles" or "safoggles" sound even weirder.

And it continues...

Theirs: The glasses/goggles are supposed to seal up against your face (via the foam inserts at the interior edges of the lenses), and keep dust out of your eyes. There are potential issues with spoggles, and reasons why people sometimes choose not to wear their personal protective equipment (PPE) when doing work in a dusty environment:

• the glasses fog up 
• the glasses can get scratched so it is hard to see 
• the foam can get “smushed” (technical term) and be less effective 
• when you take off your glasses, the dust that was at the top and sides/edges of the glasses (and in your eyebrows) can fall right into your eye anyway 
• some people think they look nerdy (also a technical term) 
• the earpieces can irritate the heck out of the back of your ears 

Mine: The glasses/goggles are supposed to seal up against your face (via the foam inserts at the interior edges of the lenses), and keep dust out of your eyes. There are potential issues with spoggles, and reasons why people sometimes choose not to wear their personal protective equipment (PPE) when doing work in a dusty environment:

• the glasses fog up 
• the glasses can get scratched so it is hard to see 
• the foam can get “smushed” (technical term) and be less effective 
• when you take off your glasses, the dust that was at the top and sides/edges of the glasses (and in your eyebrows) can fall right into your eye anyway 
• some people think they look nerdy (also a technical term) 
• the earpieces can irritate the heck out of the back of your ears 

And then both blog posts end almost the same way.

Theirs: But looking nerdy and having to take care of your PPE and using good personal hygiene while at work are a small price to pay compared to losing your eyesight or getting a nasty infection in your eye from contaminated dust. So our Flexpert’s advice – Keep a supply of spoggles on hand. With some lanyards. And some no-fog. And to sum up: spoggles are real. Spoggles are good. Spoggles may save your eyesight. Wear them if you have them.

Mine: But looking nerdy and having to take care of your PPE and using good personal hygiene while at work are a small price to pay compared to losing your eyesight or getting a nasty infection in your eye from contaminated dust. [...] Keep a supply of spoggles on hand. With some lanyards. And some no-fog. [...] So, to sum up: spoggles are real. Spoggles are good. Spoggles may save your eyesight. Wear them if you have them.


I'm choosing to not be irritated (although, really, how hard would it have been to say something like, "Thanks, Industrious Hygienist in Arizona, for the original content!" with a link to my blog?). I'm choosing to remember that it doesn't matter how the information gets out to workers, as long as it is effective in helping them realize that PPE is important but has limitations.

And I'm choosing to be flattered. But I may continue to post about spoggles and throw the keyword into a bunch of my new posts just to keep the excitement alive. There will also be a new cartoon about spoggles coming up soon.