The article doesn’t really talk much about what it’s actually for, so I’ll do my best to summarize the high points of the Wikipedia Article. From what I’m gathering it’s a really good solvent that can dissolve a looot of different things including both polar and nonpolar substances like oil and water (if I’m reading right, my chem is a bit rusty) and doesn’t catch fire easily (or whatever else “low volatility” means, my second guess is that means it doesn’t let off a lot of fumes). When it’s used pharmaceutically its to help transdermal creams and patches absorb through the skin.
“volatile” just means something evaporates quickly. On the other hand,
Flammability Category 4 (very)
Skin Corrosion/Irritation Category 2
Serious Eye Damage/Eye Irritation Category 2
Reproductive Toxicity Category 1B
Specific target organ toxicity (single exposure) Category 3
Target Organs - Respiratory system. Specific target organ toxicity - (repeated exposure) Category 2
Target Organs - Kidney, Liver, spleen, Blood.
That’s bad
We use a lot of this stuff in our research lab, and have pretty strict chemical hygiene protocols for it. EU is restricting NMP too, so we’re keeping an eye on regulations. It’s definitely hard to replace as it’s a great solvent, but I agree with the EPA that it shouldn’t be in consumer goods
Wait a minute I’ve just realized like 6 months back maybe my work changed how we get rid of certain medication patches (it’s a different special bin now with a different color lid). Was this why???
Box store retailers knew about this stuff in 2018. NMP & methylene chloride paint strippers implicated in “dozens of accidental deaths”.
It’s astonishing how far behind the EPA is in meaningfully regulating hazardous chemicals.
They’ve learned next to nothing since PFOA and PFAS.
US law tends to operate that way — you can use a chemical until it’s widely known to be a problem.
The problem is, the companies who make the products using these compounds are usually fully aware of the risks they pose to the consumer.
The regulatory agencies are purposefully kept in the dark about the risks of these chemicals, and only find out after people are already sick.
Once the agencies learn of the possible health hazards, implementing actual regulations takes years. It was 8 years ago that the EPA started looking into the risks of NMP, and it is only just now that they are proposing regulation.
All the while, the manufacturers are enriching themselves off these hazardous products and will likely see little to no consequences or liability for the damage done to public health.
