based solvents – What are petroleum-based solvents and are they hazardous?
Also known as “solvent evaporatives”, petroleum-based solvents are significant contributors to smog, and create large volumes of hazardous waste. California’s South Coast Air Quality Management District ordered approximately 32,000 Southern California businesses to stop using these high-polluting solvents. In 1999, businesses in Los Angeles and other surrounding areas had to switch from solvent evaporatives to water-based detergents and other less-polluting alternatives for cleaning metal parts and machinery. California tends to set the trend for legislation in the rest of the United States in this area.
