Canadas recent decision to remove amino methyl propanol from its list of volatile organic compounds – due to its negligible effect on formation of ground-level ozone – frees it up for use in that country in the formulation of low- and zero-VOC metalworking fluids.
Canadas Department of the Environment last month finalized an order to exclude a variety of substances from the List of Toxic Substances in Schedule 1 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, including 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency exempted the compound in 2014.
The order noted that the VOC definition in Canadas List of Toxic Substances and the Department of Environments management of some compounds on the list is inconsistent with the conclusions that they pose low underlying risk for the formation of ground-level ozone. Consequently, there are unnecessary limitations on the use of these compounds in product formulations in Canada, and the regulatory definitions of VOCs in the United States and Canada are not aligned, the department stated in a separate analysis on the topic.
Since 2004, the U.S. EPA periodically removed volatile organic compounds that had been placed on the list of materials that contribute to formation of ground-level ozone but exempted substances that had been placed on the list of toxic compounds but were subsequently found to contribute only negligibly. EPA then excluded those compounds from its list of compounds included in the regulatory definition of VOCs.
Based on all of the information available and the feedback received to date, the Department of Environment is in agreement with the U.S. EPA evaluation and has concluded that it is appropriate to exclude these organic compounds from the VOC definition, the Canadian agency stated in its analysis
One supplier of the compound is Buffalo Grove, Illinois-based Angus Chemical, which recently announced that Canadas decision mean its amino methyl propanol product – under the trademarked name AMP – could be used there. AMPs Canada VOC-exemption marks a huge win not only for our customers in Canada, who now have broader formulating flexibility, but also for consumers who will benefit from the desirable features AMP imparts in low-and zero-VOC paints, metalworking fluids and personal care products, Mark Henning, Angus Chemical president and CEO, said in a news release.
Two Angus plants produce the compound. Angus produces amino methyl propanol in two manufacturing facilities – one is located in Sterlington, Louisiana, and the other is located in Ibbenburen, Germany – and markets the product globally to the metalworking fluids market as CorrGuard-95, Pat Brutto, Angus Chemicals R&D scientist for global metalworking fluids, said in an emailed statement to Lube Report
Brutto explained that amino methyl propanol resists microbiological degradation, helping metalworking fluids to last longer and improving productivity. He noted products made with the compound for carbide tool manufacturing leach less cobalt from the tool material, minimizing health and safety considerations such as dermatitis.
The compound is completely water soluble and easy to formulate in a wide range of water-dilutable metalworking fluids, Brutto said.
VOCs are compounds that react with other chemicals and nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere to form ground-level ozone, and ultimately, harmful smog. Angus submitted a VOC-exemption petition to the EPA in October 2012 after tests by an independent lab confirmed the compound meets or exceeds the agencys zero-VOC benchmarks. The company said the compound has low global warming potential, low ozone-depleting potential, favorable toxicology profile and is not considered a hazardous air pollutant or toxic under federal rules. The EPA added AMP to its list of exempt compounds in June 2014.
Environment Canadas order amending the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, may be viewed here.