Document OzmQr587eKR219wJde7QbwjNK

al Convention Daily 27 ings Industry Trends By Daniel Barufaldi ustryManagtr-oa rings, CIBA-GEIGY Carp, * , rave been those laws and regulations vhich limit the toxic content in paints, particularly lead., The first voluntary pro vision affecting paints intended for use in children's toys, furniture and exterior urfaees was issued in 1955 by the Amercan National Standard Institute. Called he Voluntary Standard 266-1, It limited he lead content to one per cent on the lry paint film as well as one per cent olublc barium and 0.05 per cent antinony, arsenic, cadmium, mercury and elenium--taken individually or--in total m the dry paint film. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, states such as California, Connecticut, Illinois and Kansas and major cities, including Baltimore and New York, adopted control laws limiting lead content of dry paint film for surfaces exposed to children. Since then, however, increasingly strin gent laws have been passed by various states and municipalities. A recent Chi cago law, for example, not only restricts the presence of lead to 0.06 per cent on the dry film but also limits the amount of antimony, arsenic, cadmium, mercury and selenium to 0.05 per cent Individually or GLD012390 tho formulations- are left alone. Thus, if the formulation already contains calcium or zirconium in addition to lend, tire amount already present in the formulation is to bo added to the amount recom mended as a lead drier replacement. In oil-containing house paints, some addi tional coball or manganese may have to Ik ; used, but precautions against wrinkling may be necessary. Tor loss-of-dry on aging in the can, several companies are making lead-free loss-of-dry agents. Some of these seem to lie quite satisfactory. Manufacturer! of these agents can normally advise tlie coatings manufacturer Itow much to use for different pigments and colors. Though more expensive, some of these do n better job than litharge or other lead-containing agents. The problem of loss-of-dry on aging can be more easily solved than that of lend drier substitution. Mercury? Wo don't know the final deci sion hy the committee appointed to de termine allowable levels of mercury in paint. They may decide on a percentage which, for practical purposes, would com pletely eliminate mercury from paints. However, there is the possibility they may allow a level which, though very low, would still permit its use as a preserva tive for can stability. It may even be that after, .the committee examines the facts in tho case, they will adopt a per centage high enough to permit its use both as preservative and as a fungicide. Mercury in paints performs three functions; First, and probably most important, it acts as a preservative. It does so by either killing or preventing the growth of micro organisms which would cause putrefac tion with resultant bad odor, gas forma tion, etc. There are many non-mercurials being offered to perform this function. At tire last convention in Detroit, the Chicago society presented a paper in which they presented tho results of their tests with 13 commercial non-mercurial preservatives in different lalex paints. They found four to be generally satisfactory. We can there fore manage with a non-mercurial if our interest is strictly as n preservative. Ily far, the greatest amount of mercury is being used as a fungicide, to prevent the discoloration of the surface of the film. Sometimes fungi grow into, and help in the destruction of the film itself. This is true for both water and solvent-based paints. At present there is no non-mer curial that will do the job of mercury as both a fungicide and a mildewcide for all types of paints. Some of the available products will do a satisfactory job in oil or solvcnt-lmscd paints. However, they arc unsuitable in water-based coatings be cause they hydrolyze. Others Are suitable only In P.V.A/s, since they are unstable In the higher pit of the Rcrylics. Still others require tho use of zinc oxide to make them effective. This may present prob lems, since not alt latexes are stable with zinc oiido. If necessary, however, and with proper modifications, a fairly satis factory non-mercurial fungicide can be used. Hie third problem is that of enzymes-- chemicals developed by bacteria and fungi, that tend to degrade cellulosic thickeners into simple sugars. This can cause a viscosity drop large enough to make the paint unusable. At present there is no really good non-mercurial enzyme inhibitor. The only way to alleviate this problem is by much Improved housekeep ing. The tanks and mixers must bo kept clean, spattered paint must be removed so as to prevent crust formation, and everything possible should be done to keep tlie equipment sterile. Tliis, tlien, is the story, as we know It today, of the elimination of lead and mer cury from surface coatings. There is no perfectly satisfactory substitute for either. However, if we arc willing to spend more money, reformulate as necessary, take the proper precautions, and be less critical of results, we can minimize the disadvan tageous effects of the new regulations. Coati litd ^TRADITIONALLY, pigments people have viewed the world of oolor in shades of chrome yellow and molybdate orange. Inexpensive and durable, these pigments have always been regarded at the workhorses of our Industry. But, based on the growing volume of environmental control-public health legislation, it appears that within the next few years, the "usuable** applications for chrome yellow and molybdate orange .will be seVerly limited and that organic pigments will supersede them. Heading up the bulk of this legislation 1 \ j * < s I t t c i r s c While you're chan( changing thickener done away with the heavy rr problem. The increasing sens zyme attack. Which is where ener with superior enzyme re1 use. In fact, you can even di perature. So if you've decide local Dow sales office. They'l formulations: J5HS, J12HS,: the paint industry. *Tra4Mvt < Tk* Da ChMlul C*w#Ar GLD012391 in total for all paints used on exterior cost will increase substantially over what film surfaces exposed to children. it Is today. The momentum generated by early legis This "easily dispersed" pigment require lation has increased steadily and a cam ment area lx one that CIBA-CEJCY has paign against all heavy metals, not just been researching for some time. We now lead, seems inevitable. The Federal Toxic have two Hansa yellows that will stir in Substances Control Act of 1972 (enacted on a Cowles dissolver and a Beta CPC by the 1`nvironmcntal Protection Agency) blue that will ball mill in four hours or and the Food, Drug and Consumer Prod sand mill in one pass. This industry In ucts Act of 1971, give credence to this terest in easily dispersed organic color I i l philosophy and continue the trend against all kinds of toxic substances in paints. ants, I believe, will become a trend which will foster the development by technology- Ramifications of heavy metal toxicity based pigment houses of whole new lines legislation, and further controls and re of full strength E.D. organic pigments strictions of air and water pollution by hazardous chemical* are already being felt throughout our industry. Timetables have l>een set before us by all levels of government. !n California, a law strin gently limits the amount of solvent emis sion to a specific number of pounds per 24-hour period. That need for finding new kinds of pigment substitutes and paint systems has become our immediate concern. One of the initial steps taken by the automotive industry to cut back solvent emissions was the conversion to NAD (Non-Aqueous Dispersion) systems which raise the amount of solids in the paint while proportionately reducing the amount of solvent content. This, however, ap pears to be an expedient interim solution. Two other alternatives--water-based sys tems and powder coatings--solve the sol vent Emission problem more completely, but require large capital Investment for initial installation. Our present Cromophtal and IrgAzin pigment lines work well in water systems and our develop ment efforts are geared to new products and product forms which disperse easily in aoqueous vehicles. Our Microlith powdered pigment preparations are cur rently enjoying a new application area in powder or pellet form. Never before in history has our Indus try been faced with so great a technologi cal challenge. Leaving aside the problem of driers and preservatives, certainly the most imperative demand U for effective replacement of lead-containing pigments such as chrome yellow and molybdate orange with pigments of more secure toxi cological behavior. Although some inorganic pigments, such as cadmium sulfate yellows, nickel titanate yellows, cadmium tulfoselenide reds, and mercury cadmium redi,, offer some valid alternatives, from the coloristic point of vlow, the presence of heavy metals io them makes their selection dubious in light of present and future legislative trends. Iron oxide and earth pigment* offer a good and economical solution whenever the proposed shades to be matched do not involve any substantial color bright ness. Whenever brightness of shade simi lar to or better than the original chrome yellows and molybdate oranges is required, the Iron oxide pigments become unsuitable and the only valid alternative left Is among the organio pigments. This, I believe. Is where the future of our new technology lies. in powder coatings of the acrylic and Although organio pigments vaiy in their epoxy resin types. Of course, our com toxicological behavior, they can be con pany is not alone in the development of sidered safer than heavy metal-based pig products for these newer systems. ments, if ingested. Virtually non-toxic, the These systems may give new lifeblood to the automotive and other industries on several fronts. Few people outside the industry think much about the eco nomic burden of recent legislation. For organic pigment portion on the dry film Is generally in the range of one to 15 per cent--reducing proportionately the already minute heavy metal contribution from the pigments to the paint film. example, an automotive assembly plant The following suggestions are the re on a three-shift operation may be limited, sult of a series of comparative studies of or oven worse have to cut back, on the different architectural and industrial fin number of cars it may produce, if the ishes, involving a selection of organic pig emissions from its paint application lines ments which we feel offer requisite dura exceed the legal limit. bility and general performance equal to In other situations, such as those gov and, (n many cases superior to, existing erned by noise control and toxicity regu chrome yellows and molybdate oranges, lations, health hazards and economic prob lems often overlap. Not only does the (1.) For Interior Durabilityi 1 possibility of inplant worker contamina tion exist from handling toxic materials, Trade Scales--Arylamide Yellows (Irgalite Yellows PDS-1, PDS-2) but noi.se control standards limit the de- Dinltroanlllne Orange cibles per man-hour for ball mi|ling._Thus, _____ Industrial Flnishefc^Diarylide . . industry is called upon to find suitable MX Yellow (Irgalite Yellow non-toxic replacements for heavy metal LBAW) pigments and, at the same time, to de velop pigments that will disperse faster (let`s say in four hours rather than at the Benzidine Orange (2.) Medium Exterior Durability: j norma) 12 to 16-hour rate) to comply with OSIIA regulations. If these substitutes' are not developed and utilized, the labor Trade Sales--Blends of Arylamide Yellows with Isoindolinone Yol- low/y(Irgazine Yellows 2CLT/ 2RLT) and/or with yellow oxides. , Blends of Dis-AZO Orange (Cromophtal Orange 4R) with oxides. Industrial Finishes--Blends of Iso- j i indolinone Yellows with oxides. Blends of Dis-AZO Orange I (Orange 4R) with oxide. (3.) Upper Medium Exterior Durability Trade Sales and Industrial Finishes --Blends of Isoindolinone Yellows (Irgazine Yellows 2GLT/2RLT) with special Arylamide Yellow (Yellow 97). s Note special Arylamide Yellow $ ii y performance varies depending upon the system. (Not recom mended for baking systems.) / a (4.) High Fastness Exterior Durabilityi o Trade Sales and Industrial Finishes-* 1. Bright shades--Isoindolinone I Yellows (Irgazin Yellows j 2CLT/2RLT/3RLT) . 2. Dull Shades--Isoindolinone * Yellows blended with yellow 1 DaUllarNfMi and/or red oxides. GLD012392