BPA has, for example, been used for food packaging and can coatings. As it could possibly act as an endocrine disrupter, health experts and consumers raised their concerns. Recent FDA approvals for food-contact materials such as can coatings show that resins based on methacrylates are suitable as a replacement for harmful substances such as BPA.

Specialty methacrylates can replace styrene

There is also ongoing discussion about the toxicity of styrene and its classification as a potential CMR-substance. Styrene is widely used in reactive resins such us unsaturated polyester or vinyl ester-based systems. In these applications it is very often the case that an open handling of styrene cannot be avoided. Due to its relatively low vapor pressure, exposure to humans is always a risk.

Methacrylate monomers with high vapor pressure and therefore low volatility can be used to replace styrene, at least to a certain extent. As a consequence, it is possible to obtain a less harmful reactive resin with lower risk for the operators.

VISIOMER® methacrylates enable resin developers to at least partially substitute harmful chemicals while at the same time enabling them to develop state-of-the-art products.