Methacrylates & the Environment
Professional environmental management is a hallmark of modern companies. It is a requirement in operating successful and responsible businesses in the chemical industry.
MPA member companies produce methacrylate chemicals and products in high volumes that are used in a variety of automotive, health care, lifestyle, communication, construction, alternative energy and other innovative applications. This brings value to you as a consumer or industrial user, new innovations to our businesses, industries and personal lives, and jobs to our local communities. Today, efficient environmental protection makes a significant contribution to secure the future of any company. A company's responsible approach to management of environmental impact relative to protection of air, water and soil quality is an important part of maintaining a sustainable business and being a good neighbor in the chemical industry.
As such, the MPA and member companies support doing the right things for your environment, health, safety and security. For this reason, our member companies work to ensure compliance with local and federal environmental laws and guidelines, and conduct scientific investigations and analyses to define risks and appropriate controls of methacrylate chemical materials.
Methacrylic acid and the basic methacrylate esters (methyl methacrylate (MMA), ethyl methacrylate (EMA), n- and iso-butyl methacrylate (n-/i-BMA), and 2-ethylhexyl methacrylate (2-EHMA)) are used in the chemical industry as building blocks mainly for the production of acrylic glass and for durable and weather-resistant coatings, lacquers and varnishes used e.g. in housing, for furniture and in the automotive industry.
In their final form these products are all polymers, which contain only traces of the monomers, the original building blocks. As a consequence, emissions of methacrylates into the environment from the use of methacrylate-based products are minimal.
Small amounts, which may enter the environment during production and use, are not persistent, will not accumulate in the environment and will be degraded rapidly.
For more information see Environmental Effects of Methacrylates.
