Assessment of Safer Sealant Removers. 2014.
Polysulfide and polythioether based sealants are widely used in the aerospace/defense industry to seal and protect components of aircraft, missiles, and other products. Maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) operations require the removal of sealant from coated surfaces, mostly with the aid of sealant removal chemicals. In the aerospace/defense industry, commonly used sealant removers include hazardous chemicals such as toluene, methylene chloride, and N-propyl bromide.
This assessment identifies and evaluates potentially safer alternatives for sealant removal applications.The sealant removal performance of the alternatives was evaluated using a designed experiment. The environmental, health, and safety impacts of the alternative removal products were evaluated using the Pharos Chemical and Material Library chemical hazard assessment tool and the Toxics Use Reduction Institute’s Pollution Prevention Options Assessment System (P2OASys).