MWF Additive Granted VOC Exemption by Canada

ANGUS Chemical Company (Buffalo Grove, IL) announced that AMP™, a multifunctional specialty chemical that is widely used in metalworking fluids (MWF), is no longer classified as a volatile organic compound (VOC) by Canada’s Department of the Environment (Environment Canada). Following on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) exemption of AMP in 2014, Environment Canada finalized an order to remove it from the List of Toxic Substances in Schedule 1 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act 1999 due to the compound’s negligible effect on the formation of ground-level ozone.

“As global VOC regulations continue to proliferate, it has become an even more powerful tool for environmentally conscious shops to formulate more sustainable products,” stated Mark Henning, the president and chief executive officer at ANGUS. “This exemption marks a huge win not only for our customers in Canada, who now have broader formulating flexibility, but also for shops that will benefit from the desirable features it imparts in low- and zero-VOC metalworking fluids.”

AMP (2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol) offers formulators comprehensive benefits that include low odor, effective pH control, and a positive safety and handling profile. The compound, which is already being used as a key ingredient in a majority of water-based paints, now allows Canadian paint companies to avoid reformulating with less-favorable neutralizers, such as caustic soda or ammonia.

VOCs are compounds that react with other chemicals and nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere to form ground-level ozone, and ultimately, harmful smog. The company submitted a VOC-exemption petition to the EPA in October 2012 after tests performed at an independent lab confirmed that the chemical meets or exceeds the agency’s zero-VOC benchmarks. The compound has low global warming potential, low ozone-depleting potential, a favorable toxicology profile and is not considered a hazardous air pollutant (HAP) or toxic under other federal rules. The EPA added it to their list of exempt compounds in June 2014.

“Environmental impact has become a significant factor in the consumer decision-making process,” said Mike Lewis, the business vice president for ANGUS in the U.S. and Canada. “It’s no longer enough for a product to perform at a high level; it must provide sustainability benefits as well. This VOC-exemption satisfies the demand of our increasingly eco-minded customers in Canada without sacrificing functionality.”

www.angus.com