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| Posted on 4/23/08 at 11:02 AM | |
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I should just say...to not hammer too hard on the ink companies. For the most part...they really are trying. Its very difficult to make ink. They are very complex. They are (especially in the graphic side of the industry)...no less complex than the plastics those guys print on. For that matter...the chemistry performed by the reclaim chmistry companies and emulsion companies in our industry ...are no less complex. For instance most of the ink companies on this continent have worked very hard to comply with proposition 65 concerning heavy metals (mercury, chrmium, lead etc.)in inks. Naz-Dar for example has done very well on this. Oddly...though Europe has stricter reservations, there are some European based inks that are sold here that do not comply well with proposition 65...go figure Its just very sad to see how the media "gloms" onto something that is important (like the BPA issue)...and beats teh crud out of the manufacturers saying "you knew about this and you are still poinsoning us?" Yes...all chemical, plastics and ink manufacturers know about the Phenol, BPA problems etc. They have to work with these issues every day. The real problem is public demand for cheap goods. We want everything for cheap...for convenience. For instance it used to be that infant formulas and juices were mainly in glass jars (remember all that Gerber stuff?)...no BPA, phenol or pthhalates in glass. But glass is heavy to ship and more expensive than plastic and shatters when dropped. So..its in plastic now. But..looking at the list...we know there are plastics that do not have the pthhalate and BPA issue (like polypropylene). But....they are very expensive plastics and hard to recycle. Also....its hard for the plastics manufacturers to enforce rules as to how a given plastic is to be used..wether it has acids filled into it...or if its going to be re-heated or not. The other thing is that so many formerly industrial only chemicals have been put into products have been disseminated down to almost household consumer level....like cyanoacrylate adhesives and epoxies...both of which have toxicity issues. One of the big issues with BPA and other similar compounds is that they are heavily used to polymerize flame retardant plastics and coatings. I tell people all the time to read their MSDS sheets...and ask questions ....and wear their protective equipment when in doubt. I also forgot to explain what a pthhalate is. Pthhalates are a very broad classification of industrial compounds. In general they are......dialky or alkyl aryl esters of 1,2-dibenzenedicarboxylic acid....see any familiar traits in that compound? Its incorrect and unfair to state that anything with a benzene ring is bad. But here is how pthalates are being used and treated by the media and chemical companies. Pthalates are EVERYWHERE! ...from cosmetics, perfumes, plastics etc. That new car smell coming from vinyl...that leaves teh greasy residue on your windows of your new car in the summer heat?...Pthalates are included within that substance. But...there are jillions of differnt pthalates. Its is a TYPE of compund. You will find lots of info to say that Pthalates in general have no known adverse afects. But thats like the guy standing next to you saying " I have a weapon"...and in your mind you see a range from rocks to swords. No one gets excited. But if the man says "have a gun"....its totally different. Specific pthalates have toxic issues...not always all pthalates in general. One of teh more toxic versions in question right now...is Diethyl pthalate. Use plastics for everything from toys to packaging as a plsticizer to make the plastic more flexible for production. Like the leftover phenol...pthalates can be readily released or leached because they are not actively being used structurally by the plastic molecules. They are additive. Ray [Edited on 4/23/08 by raygreenwood] | ||
 
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