U.S. Solvent Cleaning Industry and the Transition to Non Ozone Depleting Substances

摘要

Industrial cleaning in the United States has changed dramatically over the past 15 to 20 years. Following the discovery that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and other substances such as methyl chloroform were depleting the stratospheric ozone layer that shields the Earth from the Sun's harmful ultraviolet light, a global effort to eliminate the use of such substances was launched. The U.S. ratification of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer in 1988 and the subsequent Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (CAAA) had major repercussions on how end-users cleaned metal parts, defluxed wiring assemblies on printed circuit boards, and removed contaminants from high value precision mechanical parts and assemblies. This report serves as an objective assessment of progress toward using alternatives to ozone depleting substances (ODS).