How to solve your solvents

GPMU health and safety experts are pressing the UK print industry to follow the German example and make a deal to clean up solvent emissions in offset printing.

Could an agreement clean up my workplace?
Yes: the German agreement should lead, in the short term, to a 50 per cent cut in solvent emissions from volatile wash-up and cleaning agents. In the longer term, a reduction to about 10 per cent seems realistic. With further progress on the removal of isopropyl alcohol, the Germans expect the total consumption of solvents in offset printing to be cut to half the 1995 level by the year 2000. This would meet in full the requirements of EU legislation.

What's the problem with solvents?
Many existing solvent cleaners evaporate rapidly and become part of the inhaled air. German calculations of the volume of pure vapour of the cleaning agent which a worker inhales during a shift (which can vary considerably, depending on working conditions) give a dramatic indication of the hazards of volatile solvents.

• A worker using volatile solvent, flash point below 21, hazard class AI, inhales 5.5 litres of vapour a day.
• A worker using white spirit, flash point 21-55, hazard class AII, inhales 1.7 litres.

Are there any alternatives?
Vegetable oil-based cleaning agents or high boiling point solvents virtually eliminate inhalation hazards from solvents.

• A worker using high boiling point hydrocarbons inhales 0.025 litres of vapour a day
• A worker using vegetable oil based cleaning agents inhales 0.007 litres.

But are the alternatives more expensive?
The newly-developed cleaning agents are more expensive than the conventional ones, but considerably reduced amounts are required, along with changes to cleaning procedures. Detailed cost comparisons in Germany have shown clearly that no cost increase occurs after the settling-in phase, giving an ultimate cost saving.

So everyone benefits?
The inhaled air of employees is not loaded with solvent vapours. Resources are conserved through the use of renewable raw materials or through possible reprocessing of hydrocarbons. Damage to the environment, through washing and cleaning agents which evaporate into the air, will be reduced to a minimum.

Do we need new laws to make the change?
The voluntary agreement of all manufacturers and suppliers concerned in the printing process represents a practical solution. The alternative would be a regulatory approach which may be less flexible and less practical.

Would it mean a lot of problems for companies?
There are no medium and long-term disadvantages for printing firms, though the changeover can in practice encounter problems, if it is not carried out conscientiously and with some thought. The new cleaning agents require careful working, in particular in the transition phase.
Tests show that the work effort for the cleaning process all in all does not increase. Any changeover requires a certain amount of time and energy, but the effort will be worthwhile, because the effect on health and environment is reduced to a minimum. The facts of the German industry initiative are that volatile solvents must no longer be used for washing and cleaning.