Army-Approved Safe Materials to Replace DOP in Mask and Filter Testing: Emery3002 (Ethylflo 162) and Emery 3004 (Ethylflo 164)

摘要

In April 1986, the U.S. Army's Office of The Surgeon General (OTSG) took theposition that dioctyl phthalate (DOP) was a suspected carcinogen. The U.S. Army had used DOP for many decades in nondestructive servicability testing of respirator canisters and protective filters, and in a variety of aerosol penetration studies including mask leakage and face fit. A program was initiated in September 1987 to find a safe replacement material for DOP, under sponsorship of the Product Assurance Directorate (PAD), CRDEC. A synthetic lubricant named Emery 3004, from the class of compounds called poly-alpha olefins (PAOs), was approved by the OTSG on 8 January 1992 for use Army-wide as a safe replacement for DOP in hot smoke and cold smoke testing machines. Another less-viscous PAO, Emery 3002, was also approved by the OTSG on 24 February 1993 for Army-wide use in cold-smoke applications. The Ethyl Corporation (Boca Raton, LA) is the primary manufacturer of these PAOs, under the trade names Ethylflo 162 (repackaged as Emery 3002), and Ethylflo 164 (repackaged as Emery 3004). These materials are extremely useful DOP replacements. They perform at least as well as DOP in various testing machines. They can replace DOP directly in existing machines without modification, and are recommended to replace DOP as soon as is practicable. Masks, Respirators, Cold smokes, Cost, Test smokes, DOP, Mutagens, Hot smokes, TDA-100, Q-127, PAOs, Face-fit, Carcinogens Toxicity, Q-Testers, Ethyflo 164, Ethyflo 162, Emergy 3002, Emery 3004, Filter testing, Penetrometers, DOP Replacement, Synthetic hydrocarbons, Poly-alpha olefins.