Why You Should Stop Using Avgas in Your Parts Washers
parts cleaning, safer alternatives, work safety, workplace safety
It’s common practice for different substances to be used in parts washers, such as mineral spirits, kerosene, and even diesel. Whilst these may be effective at cleaning parts to some degree, they pose serious health and safety risks and should be substituted with highly effective and safer alternatives.
Health and Safety Risks of Avgas
Avgas can cause irritation to the eyes and skin. High concentrations of vapour or mist may cause nausea, vomiting, headaches, dizziness, loss of coordination, numbness, and other central nervous system effects. In cases of massive acute overexposure, it may cause rapid central nervous system depression, sudden collapse, coma, and/or death.
Avgas is highly flammable and explosive, and even empty containers may retain residue and pose a serious danger.
This is evidenced by an incident that occurred on 13 April 2019, in which an 18-year old worker suffered severe burns when a 44-gallon drum of Avgas exploded.
The worker was instructed by his employer to cut the lid off the Avgas drum so it could be used as a rubbish bin.
The 18-year old worker, and another worker who was assisting him, attempted to wash and clean the drum.
The 18-year old then used an angle grinder to cut the drum, causing the explosion. The worker received burns to the hands, arms, face, and nasal passages.
Replacing Avgas with a Safer Substitute
Instead of using dangerous chemistries such as Avgas in your parts washers, we recommend using Purasolve Parts Cleaner SK. Purasolve Parts Cleaner SK is a powerful, fully recyclable, heavy duty parts washing solution developed to replace dangerous solvents for parts cleaning. It has no special storage requirements, lowering the cost of transport, handling, and storage.
This high-tech parts washing solution is non-flammable and non-explosive, low vapour and benzene-free. (Check out this flame test video!)
Purasolve Parts Cleaner SK is highly effective at removing heavy-bearing grease. Because the product is slow evaporating, it thoroughly cleans parts and does not leave behind deposits that cause congestion and damage equipment. It does not dry out seals and hoses like traditional cleaners, further extending the life of your equipment.
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