Bug Juice

By Edward Eckert

Patrick Kilbane, CLS

Manufacturers and users of metalworking fluids are faced with the challenge to maintain a healthy environment for its workers by reducing the amount waste to be treated, while maintaining product quality at a reasonable cost. Microbial contamination if not monitored and corrective action taken immediately if detected, leads to costly equipment downtime due to fluid change outs and cleaning; and even worse, possible employee health related issues.

With cutting oils, industry trends are moving away from chlorine to sulfur and phosphate fluids for waste disposal efficiency. However, chlorine fluids do not promote microbial growth where sulfur and phosphate fluids do promote microbial growth. Vegetable Oils are being utilized in some cutting and grinding applications due to their environmentally friendly nature, but this also makes them susceptible to microbial growth.

Good fluid maintenance practices and the ability of the employee to identify when a metalworking fluid is not safe are keys to maintaining a healthy environment on the shop floor. Some of the signs that a fluid may not be safe to use due to heavy microbial contamination are:

• Appearance – a gray or black fluid typically indicates the fluid is contaminated with bacteria.  
• Odor – foul or “locker room” odor from the fluid is a definite indicator of microbial contamination. While the odor can be covered up, if it is introduced into the environment as a mist and possibly inhaled, it may cause serious respiratory problems.
• Floating matter – floating matter may possibly be mold contamination.

The use of biocides is a must in today’s metalworking fluids to counter the microbial challenge facing the metalworking industry. Therefore, the monitoring of these fluids is more important than ever. Fluids should be checked for microbial growth on a routine basis as part of your Metalworking Fluid Management Program.

Staveley Services Fluids Analysis has a dedicated ISO17025 accredited Metalworking Laboratory in Glendale Heights, Illinois. Staveley performs testing on all four types of metalworking fluids. Not only do we test for microbial infections, but we also offer numerous other test procedures for fluid concentration, performance, other common fluid contaminants, and physical properties. Contact us at info@staveleyfa.com for more information regarding our testing services for metalworking fluids, fuels, coolants, or lubricants.

For more information on Staveley’s Metalworking test capabilities please click here.