Vertrel^® is not a major contributor to the problem of global warming.

First, a word of explanation. Global Warming Potential (G.W.P.) is an attempt to predict the effect a stable, long-lived molecule might have in warming the atmosphere of the planet. Another environmental concern is low-altitude smog. Smog is generally caused by Volatile Organic Compounds which react with sunlight.

Many, many common chemicals have GWP ratings. In general, chemicals that have high GWP ratings have low VOC ratings. High VOC ratings generally mean a chemical has a low GWP. It's like a child's teeter-totter: one when side goes up, the other side must go down. It is almost impossible for a chemical to be both a low VOC and a low GWP, and the few cleaners that do accomplish this magic trick are usually flammable.

So where does that leave Vertrel^®?

Vertrel^® is in the middle, with middle-of-the-pack GWP scores ranging from 600 to about 1200. This means that Vertrel^® is a good, balanced, safe, nonflammable, middle-of-the-road choice when compared to the major global warming chemicals (such as halogenated fire supressants and fully-fluorinated solvents like PFCs). It also means that the Vertrel^® products are good replacements for the flammable high VOC products, such as alcohols. Especially when used with low-emission vacuum systems, nobody beats the cleaning efficiency, safety and cost-effectivenesss of Vertrel^®.

Here are the details:

In short, Vertrel^® is a great and planet-friendly replacement for ozone-depleting solvents such as CFC-113, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, HCFC-141b, n-propyl bromide (nPB) and HCFC-225, as well as high-global-warming solvents such as perfluorocarbons (PFCs).

(By the way, everybody asks about the Montreal Protocol and global warming. The Montreal Protocol is all about ozone-depleting substances and does not address global warming. For more details about the ozone depletion issue, global warming and VOCs, you can visit the United Nations web site, the Earthwatch web site, the GreenPeace web site, and a new location in the UK called OzoneDepletion.co.uk that has very good info without the polemics found on GreenPeace.)

Please call, fax or email us at MicroCare Marketing Services
for more information about our full line of cleaning answers.