This article has been translated with machine translation.
Navigate to:
Tools > Substitution
What should I think about and how should I prioritize?
The purpose of substitution in iChemistry is to review the possibility of replacing products by using other chemical product’s that present less of a risk or are less hazardous.
The products are prioritized (1-5) where the priority of 1 means that it should be given priority over the others. The priority is calculated by:
- The product risk phrases/hazard statements (e.g. H360 will give a high priority)
- Added inventory quantities
- If past accidents have been specified in the risk assessment for the product.
Replace product A with product B?
What should you look at when comparing product A with product B?
A suggestion is that you use safety data sheet (SDS) to compare the products; look at hazard statements, classification and other information that you can easily find in the SDS.
In iChemistry you have the possibility to compare products in the substitution module.
Reduce the amount
Limit or reduce the usage amount of the product to the very minimum or what is necessary. As a manufacturer, look at why a product is classified and consider replacing the single substance in the mixture that is causing the whole product to be classified.
Remove unnecessary products
If you have several different products of the same product type, e.g. 10 different lubricants, you have a great opportunity to phase out all products that are not necessary. This can also have a positive affect such a cost reduction.
Change method
Ask yourself: Can we change the way we work to reduce the exposure?
Why is this important?
There can be a lot of aspects to why substitution of products is important, but some of them are:
- For the sake of the employees and the environment
- Positive for your brand
- Economic aspects
- Legal requirements
Look at the whole perspective for a product; dosage, recyclable packaging, work environment / external environment...
Start reviewing products that are: most dangerous, have the largest amount, are most often used, are used for a long time, have the greatest exposure, are most difficult to protect yourself against, have the greatest risk of mistakes, etc.
Let iChemistry help you to locate these products; use e.g. the following restriction lists:
- CMR products
- SVHC (REACH Candidate list)
- Allergens
- Reach Annex XIV
- SIN list
While efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, this translation may not be entirely error-free. Please consider this when interpreting the information.