Are Floor Strippers Safe
By Frederick M. Hueston
Almost all schools systems and public buildings apply
acrylic finishes to there , terrazzo and stone flooring to keep them shiny and
looking clean. Often these finishes have
to be striped off and a new finish applied.
The strippers that are used to remove these acrylic coatings often
contain hazardous chemicals that are harmful to humans, animals and the
environment. The following information
will explore how dangerous these strippers are and offer an alternative.
I examined the Material Safety Data Sheets(MSDS) of over 20
popular strippers used to remove acrylic floor coatings. I found that there are
several common ingredients found which are the following:
Monoethanolamine
Butoxyethanol
Ethanolamine
Ethylene Glycol Monobutyl Ether
Sodium Hydroxide
I next examined the dangerous of these ingredients
Butoxyethanol
Butoxyethanol goes by several names including ethylene
glycol monobutyl ether, ethylene glycol butyl either, ethylene glycol n-butyl
ether, Butyl Cellosolve, butyl glycol, butyl oxitol,glycol butyl ether, Dowanol
EB, Gafcol EB, poly-solv EB, and Ektasolve EB.
If you see any of these ingredients on an MSDS for the stripper you are
using you are dealing with Butoyethanol.
Butoxyethanol is used
in many products other that floor strippers, including paints, varnishes, lacquers, paint thinners, agricultural
products, herbicides, silicon caulks, cutting oils, fabric dyes and inks and
household cleaners and even in some floor cleaners.
Butoyethanol is a dangerous chemical in many ways. It can
pass into the air from water and soil as a vapor. This means that the vapors
are emitted when you mix your strippers
in water and apply them to the floor.
Butoxyethanol is very harmful to humans and has been shown
in laboratory testing to cause the following:
Irritation of the
nose and eyes
Headaches
A metallic Taste
Vomiting
Breathing problems
Low blood pressure
Lowered levels of hemoglobin
Blood in the urine
Metabolic acidosis
Birth Defects
Kidney and liver damage
Butoxyethanol and the Environment
Butoxyethanol can be absorbed by soil and can make its way
into the water supply.
The warnings on many labels of floor stripper containing
Butoxyethanol say the following:
Avoid breathing vapor or mist.
Avoid contact with eyes, skin and clothing.
Keep container closed.
Use only with adequate ventilation.
Wash thoroughly after handling.
Keep away from heat and flame.
Do you want this harmful chemical used in your school or
building?
Monoethanolamine
Monoethanolamine is another common chemical found in
strippers.
Monoethanolamine also goes by several names such as Colamine, Glycinol, Olamine, Ethanolamine,
2-Aminoethanol, 2-Hydroxyethylamine, beta-Ethanolamine and
beta-Hydroxyethylamine.
Some of the potential health effects include the following:
Extremely harmful to the eyes.
Harmful to lungs, skin.
Tissue damage can occur around mucus membranes
Can cause burns on the skin
Maybe toxic to Kidneys, Lungs, liver and central nervous
system.
Monoethanolamine in also combustible.and corrosive
Harmful to animals and the environment.
Monoethanolamine can produce very harmful byproducts due to
degradation in the environment.
Sodium Hydroxide
Another chemical found in many strippers is Sodium
Hydroxide. Sodium Hydroxide
Is commonly known as lye. Any one who has ever worked with
this knows it can easily burn you skin, not to mention what it can due to your
eyes and mouth. It is classified as a
poison and is very corrosive.
Since it is a poison it is harmful to animals and fish.
Conclusions and
Alternatives
As you can see the common chemicals found in numerous
stripper formulas are not safe for humans or the environment and cannot be
classified as a sustainable practice if using them.
The good news is there are alternatives to these chemicals.
Acrylic coating on terrazzo and stone flooring can be
removed mechanically with abrasives using no chemicals other than water.
Many Chemical companies are manufacturing strippers that are
safe to work with and are Green Certified.