Posted By fakher My employer is considering a safer alternative to white spirit , I wonder if anybody could recommend safer alternative

Posted By fakher Thanks They are using it as a solvent and for cleaning tools and equipment cleaner and paint additive the alternative that they are looking for is being safe from all aspects of course but with much concern to the health wise

Posted By phalda Been working with white spirit for 30 years.. Never came across an alternative to it.. cost wise nor coshh wise.. All you can do is ensure safe system in place for usage.. good ventilation, barrier creams etc.. maybe give tool box talk regarding its potential hazards.. ( we all forget..get complacent).. Also buy a spirit vat which enables you to re-use the stuff after settling.. P.

Posted By Chris Packham With regard to previous postings on this thread: White spirit is a solvent and, as such, will defat the skin, with the resultant irritant contact dermatitis. White spirit is also a skin penetrant, and can act as a vehicle, taking other chemicals, that may be even more hazardous, into and through the skin resulting in possible allergic and systemic reactions. So skin contact is something to be avoided. I have had clients replace their solvent based cleaning system with detergent based equipment washing plant. The capital cost of the plant was recovered in the fact that workers were no longer spending time on equipment cleaning, there was no used solvent to dispose of, etc. It all depends on what you are trying to clean, what you are trying to remove and where the cleaning is being done. Finally, barrier creams will not provide protection against white spirit, as numerous studies show, and may even increase skin uptake. The preferred glove for white spirit is nitrile, but of a reasonable thickness, i.e. cat III. Chris

Posted By Coshh Assessor Ignore me being silly ... I'm sure I was thinking of turpentine there.

Posted By Mike Parks CoshhAssessor You may be thinking of 'Turps Substitute'.I used to work in a paint factory that sold the stuff. 'Turps Substitute' & 'White Spirit' are basically same thing. so the risks involved in either are the same. We had to wear gloves and eyeprtection when using it. Mike

Posted By Chris Packham Just remember when doing the risk assessment for white spirit that it isn't white spirit that you will be assessing, but white spirit plus all the other substances that are in it as a result of its use. Some of these may be irritant, sensitising or toxic, but in their normal state unlikely to represent much of a health hazard. However, mixed into the white spirit the mixture may represent a significant hazard. Chris

Posted By Peter Taylor14 how does white spirit cause deafness??

Posted By MickN Peter, I suspect you'd have to drink large quantities to incur deafness, much like drinking methanol can cause blindness (being "blind drunk" doesn't count). For everything else I suggest sticking to the information on the MSDS, as supplied with your delivery of white spirit, as it's the only correct reference. Mick

Posted By fakher Gentle men please see links below might help in our discussion regarding white spirit http://www.inchem.org/documents/hsg/hsg/hsg103.htm http://www.thesciencefor...-on-Pregnancy-16893t.php http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp79-c2.pdf http://www.google.com.ly...h+effects&hl=ar&lr=&sa=2