MEK

[NovaMan]

On December 19, 2005, the EPA removed methyl ethyl ketone (MEK, or 2-butanone) from the Hazardous Air Pollutants List of the Clean Air Act.
The Ketones Panel of the American Chemistry Council had submitted a petition which stated "emissions, ambient concentrations, bioaccumulation, or deposition may not reasonably be anticipated to cause adverse effects to human health or adverse environmental effects."

So it would seem that at concentrations that are not ridiculously high, MEK is not mutagenic or genotoxic.

 

[Gary Allan]

Heck ..back when I bathed in this stuff (cleaning up a thermal "calander"/laminator that used laytex) ..it was just considered a fat soluble solvent that would dry up your skin.

That was a long time ago.

 

[moribundman]

So Gary, I gather you're still fresh and juicy?

 

[Rob Taggs]

MEK does dry your skin out. Used it to clean aircraft aluminum parts before assembly on aircraft. It will sure clean your nose out just from breathing it!

 

[wileyE]

My mom used to use it to clean carpet stains. As a kid I remember the temptation of the big skull and crossbones on the label was too much, had to take it out and poisen ants on the side walk.
Till I got caught, at that point I knew it must have been pretty bad stuff, at least my butt knew.

 

[jg-911]

Where can we get this stuff? I used it for cleaning my tools (many years back) when I worked in a refinery. It cut crud better than anything I ever tried before or since. I remember it's smell, and how it dried so quickly. A month later a co-worker was diagnosed with terribly advanced liver cancer and he warned me that either MEK or Benzene was suspect, I worked the benzene unit mostly. I shied away from both, he died a month later. I have never found a better solvent than MEK, benzene did pretty good as did toluene.
Where do I find MEK? I promise I'll use good gloves and not breathe it, it worked great.

 

[tom slick]

your local hardware store may have it (mine does) or look at an automotive paint supply shop, it's still in automotive painting.

 

[Bret Chase]

I think you can buy it at home depot.. I've found xylene to be an excellent grease cutter.. wear your charcoal mask though.. that stuff gives me a headache.

 

[Crashbox]

Yep, MEK is a great solvent. Used it to remove lots of tape adhesive from glass windows at a curling club. Worked great. One of the drawbacks is that there is no flight number published on the cans! I was higher than a kite when I got done but the windows were clean!

Should be available at a local hardware store.

 

[Shannow]

One day I decided to respray the hood lining of my Torana with a commercial "vinyl paint". Masked off everything inside really well and set to it.

Quickly hooked Mum's vaccum cleaner up as a forced air supply, but still ended up really wierded up.

I prefer acetone and MEK, as they are sort of sisters, and acetone is produced naturally in the body (admitedly under adverse protein digesting conditions), so I think it's better for you than benzene/toluene/xylene.

 

[artificialist]

Some Berryman Chemtool products have MEK mixed in with the other ingredients.

 

[barton]

MEK is an excellent solvent. I used it regularly at a machine shop where I worked some 20 years ago. Several years after I moved on, I found out that the shop owner's son was sick. Seems he had leukemia. He didn't make it. Then I was diagnosed with it in 2001 around Christmas time. Thankfully I'm still here. While I was fighting my leukemia, the shop foreman, a very dear friend, was diagnosed with liver cancer. Sadly he didn't make it either.

These types of cancers are the result of genetic damage that is acquired as we go through life. Does this mean that MEK is the cause of it all? Who knows. An unlucky cosmic ray collision could have done the same thing. But that's a pretty high incidence rate of rare cancers in a shop with only about 20 guys.

I love the way MEK melts grease off of parts. But I respect solvents that are based on aromatic hydrocarbons and ethyl ketones. I hope you guys will too. Wear barrier gloves and a good respirator. Use them in an environment with plenty of ventilation. Teach your kids about them.

 

[Shannow]

Our bodies produce di-ethyl ketone (ethyl ethyl ketone) during some metabolic processes...it's a part of our evolution.

I'd rather play with MEK, EEK (acetone) than anything with a benzene ring (benzene, toluene, xylene etc.)

As an aside, a reasonably recent Sydney air test showed benzene levels greater than the OH&S allowable 8 hour 5 day a week exposure levels...that's 24/7.