ANGUS AMP Additive Granted VOC Exemption Status by Environment Canada

ANGUS Chemical Company has announced that AMP, a multifunctional specialty chemical that is widely used in paint formulations, metalworking fluids and personal care products, is no longer classified as a volatile organic compound (VOC) by Canada’s Department of the Environment (Environment Canada).

Following on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) exemption of AMP in 2014, Environment Canada finalized an order to remove AMP from the List of Toxic Substances in Schedule 1 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 due to the compound’s negligible effect on the formation of ground-level ozone.

“As global VOC regulations continue to proliferate, AMP has become an even more powerful tool for environmentally-conscious customers to formulate more sustainable products,” said Mark Henning, president and chief executive officer of ANGUS Chemical Company. “AMP’s Canada VOC-exemption marks a huge win not only for our customers in Canada, who now have broader formulating flexibility, but also for consumers who will benefit from the desirable features AMP imparts in low- and zero-VOC paints, metalworking fluids and personal care products.”

AMP (2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol) offers formulators comprehensive benefits including low odor, effective pH control, and a positive safety and handling profile. The compound, which is already being used as a key ingredient in a majority of water-based paints, now allows Canadian paint companies to avoid reformulating with less-favorable neutralizers, such as caustic soda or ammonia.

VOCs are compounds that react with other chemicals and nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere to form ground-level ozone, and ultimately, harmful smog. ANGUS submitted a VOC-exemption petition to the EPA in October 2012 after tests performed at an independent lab confirmed that AMP meets or exceeds the agency’s zero-VOC benchmarks. The compound has low global warming potential, low ozone-depleting potential, a favorable toxicology profile and is not considered a hazardous air pollutant (HAP) or toxic under other federal rules. The EPA added AMP to its list of exempt compounds in June 2014.

“Environmental impact has become a significant factor in the consumer decision-making process,” said Mike Lewis, business vice president, United States and Canada for ANGUS. “It’s no longer enough for a product to perform at a high level; it must provide sustainability benefits as well. AMP’s VOC-exemption satisfies the demand of our increasingly eco-minded customers in Canada without sacrificing functionality.”