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ESOH Issues
Cr6+ (CrVI, hexavalent chromium) is a known
carcinogen that is heavily regulated.
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EPA Clean Air Act rules
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OSHA Occupational Exposure to Hexavalent Chromium (Cr6+
PEL is currently 5μgm-3)
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European Union laws (RoHS, WEEE, ELV)
Exposure
Personnel may be exposed at the OEM level and during depot overhaul, repaint, and operational level touch-up and repair.
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OEM and depot personnel may be exposed in painting
operations. Emission controls, PPE required.
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Maintainers are exposed in scuff sand and paint
operations. PPE required.
Alternatives, Applications, Status
Primary alternatives are barium chromate and non-chrome
products. Barium chromate is considered
to be less toxic than other chromates used in primers and is a Class C1 in MIL-PRF specifications. Non-chrome primers contain alternative inhibiters such as rare earth
metals. Zn-rich primers have long
been used for steel infrastructure, and new Mg-rich primers are under
development and evaluation for DoD use. A number of alternatives are
commercially available and some have been authorized and implemented.
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Common Alternatives
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Examples of Authorizations and Implementations
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Specifications
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Barium Chromate primers
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MIL-PRF-85582 Class C1
MIL-PRF-23377 Class C1
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Chrome-free primer approvals
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- Some USMC vehicles
- USN
aircraft skins, scuff sand, and touch-up of existing paint systems
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MIL-PRF-23377 Class N
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Chrome-free primer
implementations
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- F-35
Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter
- Apache
helicopter upgrade, repair (Boeing Mesa)
- Space
Shuttle solid rocket booster Al components (NASA)
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