Description
Evaluates the risks to human health and the environment posed by exposure to 2-methoxyethanol, 2-ethoxyethanol and their two acetates: 2-methoxyethyl acetate and 2-ethoxyethyl acetate. These glycol ethers have a wide range of uses as solvents with particular application in paints, stains, inks, lacquers and the production of food-contact plastics. Sections concerned with sources of exposure note that patterns of use as evaporative solvents result in significant, widespread emissions to the environment, with great potential for direct human exposure in industry, in small work-shops, and during home use of numerous consumer products. The book concludes with a series of recommendations to authorities, including the need to find less toxic solvents, to alert users to the hazards of these chemicals and to be aware that air monitoring alone is not an adequate measure of safety conditions at the workplace.
