Replacing toxic solvents in working environment

The aim of this project is to replace toxic solvents that pose a health risk on workers. We will focus on chlorinated solvents, and by using state of the art in silico tools we plan to find and test substitute solvents that perform well but do not pose a risk on human health or the environment. These results will be disseminated to stakeholders. 

Chlorinated solvents are very well known for their strong cleaning and degreasing properties and are often used in a variety of industrial applications. Despite their usefulness these solvents can be toxic if inhaled or ingested. The consumption of chlorinated solvents in Sweden has decreased dramatically since the seventies and stabilized at about 500 tonnes per year after 2008. Not surprisingly, the manufacturing industry has the highest worker exposure level to chlorinated solvents.  

In order to exchange the chlorinated solvents, we plan to use a unique combination of techniques. First, we will use the HSP program (and associated databases) to predict substitute solvents that perform similar to chlorinated solvents, and then we will use ADME predictor and Leadscope to evaluate toxicity. Then a limited number of substitute solvents will be analyzed from a safety perspective and tested for specific application of interest for the stakeholders before being disseminated openly.