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 Post subject: Nalco 0525 S.P.D. - diesel engine coolant water treatment?
PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2018 6:16 pm 

Joined: Mon Aug 23, 2004 9:37 pm
Posts: 313
Location: Niles Canyon Railway, near Sunol, CA
I am trying to identify the contents of an old 15-gallon blue plastic drum. Most of the paper label has worn off. I can still read "NALCO 0525 S.P.D.". The drum and its contents are probably 30+ years old. I suspect this is either a diesel engine coolant additive, or maybe steam locomotive boiler water treatment.

If I could identify the contents, it would reduce the cost to dispose of as hazardous waste.

I contacted Nalco. They no longer make this product, and say they have no information about it. (Probably it was made before anyone I talked to worked there.)

I have Googled a lot, but haven't found any references to NALCO 0525 S.P.D.

I just ordered a used book
Quote:
The NALCO Water Handbook
(1979 edition), just in case it has any info on this product.

Does anyone has info on NALCO 0525 S.P.D.?


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 Post subject: Re: Nalco 0525 S.P.D. - diesel engine coolant water treatmen
PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2018 9:27 pm 

Joined: Fri Aug 20, 2010 8:25 pm
Posts: 485
Sounds like it could just be an old plastic drum that filled up with rain water ?

Heck, whatever was in there originally sounds awfully expensive, I doubt anyone would have just left that laying around without a tightly sealed cap ....

Maybe all you have is an old plastic barrel full of rain water ? If so, you could just dump it on the ground and recycle an empty plastic barrel ?

Be sure to follow all applicable laws and regulations to the best of your ability.

Cheers, Kevin


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 Post subject: Re: Nalco 0525 S.P.D. - diesel engine coolant water treatmen
PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2018 9:59 pm 

Joined: Fri Mar 26, 2010 11:43 am
Posts: 746
picture of the label might help


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 Post subject: Re: Nalco 0525 S.P.D. - diesel engine coolant water treatmen
PostPosted: Thu Aug 16, 2018 11:19 am 

Joined: Mon Aug 23, 2004 9:37 pm
Posts: 313
Location: Niles Canyon Railway, near Sunol, CA
Dumping an unknown chemical on the ground is asking for big trouble. We've had an environmental company give our team an all-day training class about reporting chemical spills. There is no way I could claim ignorance of the anti-dumping laws.

Niles Canyon Railway's right-of-way is along Alameda Creek, through a steep-walled canyon that hasn't changed much since 1880. Alameda County is serious about keeping the creek water clean enough to drink. Alameda Creek is one of the few creeks in the area (there aren't any rivers) that do not go dry in the summertime. That's important. Much of the county's water is supplied by aqueducts from the Sierra Nevada mountains 100+ miles away. If the aqueducts are damaged by the next big earthquake - which is overdue - then Alameda Creek may have to be used for drinking water.

Keeping our stormwater runoff clean is essential. I have to have our stormwater laboratory analyzed 4X/year to prove it's clean.

- Doug Debs
Hazmat Manager, Niles Canyon Railway


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 Post subject: Re: Nalco 0525 S.P.D. - diesel engine coolant water treatmen
PostPosted: Thu Aug 16, 2018 11:47 am 

Joined: Thu May 24, 2012 1:37 pm
Posts: 2213
This sounds to me like a detergent/surfactant, Nalco being a subsidiary of Ecolab. Perhaps something like 'sulfonate phosphate detergent? See if you can find a 'formulary' with chemical process symbols, that is probably what the 0525 refers to (commercial trade secrets being preserved in formulary by using wording like "Take two parts of Liquid 456 and blend in powdered 11365 until stiff..."

There ought to be some easy field tests to confirm this is a detergent from basic principles - measure the pH, dissolve a few drops in water and test grease and oil emulsification, etc.

Find appropriate reasonably clean screw or clamp-top vessels (gallon paint cans ought to work fine) and label them prominently with what you know about the material. Transfer in as much of the product as you can squeegee, and seal the containers. Wrap the original tub and lid up in a stable plastic bag and seal the bag. Then store them. Why waste a nickel on "hazmat disposal" when I'm sure you have a place that is quiet and safe to put these (almost certainly reasonably harmless) items.

_________________
R.M.Ellsworth


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 Post subject: Re: Nalco 0525 S.P.D. - diesel engine coolant water treatmen
PostPosted: Thu Aug 16, 2018 11:54 am 

Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2004 4:00 am
Posts: 183
Location: Philadelphia, Pa.
You should go right to the manufacture which Nalco became Ecolab. The S.P in S.P.D seem to me that it may mean sterile process but let them tell you exactly what it is. The problem with stuff that's older is that what was considered okay 30 years ago could be considered bad for the environment today and will have to be dealt with appropriately.


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 Post subject: Re: Nalco 0525 S.P.D. - diesel engine coolant water treatmen
PostPosted: Thu Aug 16, 2018 3:47 pm 

Joined: Sat Oct 17, 2015 5:55 pm
Posts: 2279
They are actually using Nalco water treatment in your own SP 9010, but I'll bet you know that (look at the January 14, 2018 update): http://sp9010.ncry.org/mechanical5.html

My dad was a "dedicated" driver for Nalco in the 1980s and 1990s, he worked for a large trucking company, but drove a semi tank truck with Nalco markings at that time. Nalco stands for National Alum Company, he was delivering water treatment to steel mills, mine reclamation (he would need to backup down winding dirt paths and across blind curves on mainline CSX tracks in West Virginia for example), nuclear power plants, etc.


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 Post subject: Re: Nalco 0525 S.P.D. - diesel engine coolant water treatmen
PostPosted: Thu Aug 16, 2018 4:13 pm 

Joined: Mon Aug 23, 2004 9:37 pm
Posts: 313
Location: Niles Canyon Railway, near Sunol, CA
S.P. 9010 (Krauss Maffei 4000 HP diesel hydraulic) uses Nalco Nalcool 2000 cooling water treatment, diluted 32:1 with water [per the datasheet instructions].

I received a RYPN private message regarding Nalco 0525 S.P.D.:
"...there was a family of chemicals used for water treatment of cooling systems in the 1960s-1970s called "Synthetic Polyacrylate Dispersants" (SPD)."

The 1960s-1970s is long before MSDSs were required*. I talked to Nalco, but they no longer supply info on products this old.

I ordered the used book "The NALCO Water Handbook, 1979 edition". Hopefully this will have info on Synthetic Polyacrylate Dispersants. Stay tuned.

- Doug Debs
Hazmat Manager, Niles Canyon Railway


*OSHA published the first Hazard Communication Standard in November 1983, which required manufacturers to write MSDSs and make them available to customers. But the MSDS format wasn't defined until 1985, and even then there were a lot of confusing variations. More recently MSDSs have been rewritten as Safety Data Sheets (SDS) conforming to the new Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). GHS-compliant SDSs are a lot easier to read than most MSDSs.


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 Post subject: Re: Nalco 0525 S.P.D. - diesel engine coolant water treatmen
PostPosted: Thu Aug 16, 2018 4:42 pm 

Joined: Sat Oct 17, 2015 5:55 pm
Posts: 2279
My dad says most of the stuff at Nalco was non-hazardous, and polymers tend to be non-hazardous that attracted particles in boilers etc., and also were used in locomotives (he delivered to the Milwaukee Road in St. Paul often). But occasionally he delivered very corrosive materials to places like milk plants to sanitize their lines. He says any fire department should have that information, but I'll bet you have tried that already.


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 Post subject: Re: Nalco 0525 S.P.D. - diesel engine coolant water treatmen
PostPosted: Thu Aug 16, 2018 5:55 pm 

Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2004 12:16 am
Posts: 69
Location: Northbrook, IL
I'm a Nalco "retiree" - left about 20 years ago.

Nalco sold many many chemicals for many many uses. Some were hazardous like biocides!. In the old days Nalco (or its predecessor National Aluminate once sold chromate containing chemicals and chemicals that were weed killers. National Aluminate once had a division that did railway weed control

http://railroad.net/articles/railfannin ... WF0008.jpg

National Aluminate was a major supplier of water treatment chemicals to railroads during the steam era. In the diesel era it suppliers radiator corrosion inhibitors, fuel treatment additives and much much more. Nalco remains a major supplier of industrial water treatment compounds.

Don't assume that the product is safe or non-toxic! It may very well be, but, no idea! Since you're using Nalco/Ecolab products in your SP 9010? Contact your Nalco sales rep for info.


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 Post subject: Re: Nalco 0525 S.P.D. - diesel engine coolant water treatmen
PostPosted: Fri Aug 17, 2018 10:36 am 

Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2010 8:17 pm
Posts: 260
I have some Nalco 39-RR corrosion inhibitor/water treatment that I called Nalco on.

I could not get any information from them on this product and was just passed along the chain. I was told to talk with someone else, was passed along within their system to the other party, but not given a number. I left a message and it was never returned.

This Nalco 39-RR is in a 5 gallon bucket and has no instructions as to what ratio to mix it with water.

We want to use it in a locomotive.

But I also want to make sure it will not cause a problem if it is accidently spilled on the ground.

We had a Hotstart fail and the safety plug popped out and dumped all the water on the ground. It was all straight water, so never hurt anything.

If anyone knows anything about this Nalco product, it would be most helpful.

Thanks


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 Post subject: Re: Nalco 0525 S.P.D. - diesel engine coolant water treatmen
PostPosted: Fri Aug 17, 2018 12:39 pm 

Joined: Fri Mar 26, 2010 11:43 am
Posts: 746
buried in this patent, 380 gallons water to 4-5 gallons 39RR "red"

http://www.patentgenius.com/patent/5446389.html

some hint that Nalco used to makes pesticides:

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,4136498

dumping RR herbicide concentrate would be a bad, bad idea.

Personally, I'd call Nalco again, and again, try different departments. They DO bear some responsibility to their products, legacy or not.


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 Post subject: Re: Nalco 0525 S.P.D. - diesel engine coolant water treatmen
PostPosted: Fri Aug 17, 2018 12:52 pm 

Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2004 12:16 am
Posts: 69
Location: Northbrook, IL
I posted this thread on the Nalco retiree FB page - Best advice -
Call the Ecolab emergency 800 number.
Emergency Contact Numbers

North America
The United States, Canada and México emergency response numbers are available for assistance 24 hours a day. Other regions offer emergency response support during regular business hours.

United States: 800-424-9300
Canada: 800-463-3216
Mexico SETIQ-ANIQ: 01-800-002-1400 & 01-55-5559-1588


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 Post subject: Re: Nalco 0525 S.P.D. - diesel engine coolant water treatmen
PostPosted: Fri Aug 17, 2018 7:47 pm 

Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2004 12:16 am
Posts: 69
Location: Northbrook, IL
additional info - this is the latest response from Nalco/Ecolab

pls e-mail nalcowaterhazcom@ecolab.com (i'm told this is the e-mail for the logistics safety person listed below)

.... if they need disposal recommendations I would recommend that Logistics Safety (CC’d above) get involved. They can arrange for an outside firm to come in and dispose/clean-up the products properly. If the MIN SDS you identified will work for 39-RR mentioned then that can be provided to them. I did a search for variations of 525 in our databases and haven’t found anything yet. If they could take a picture of the labels on the containers that may provide some additional leads. Will keep looking in the meantime.


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 Post subject: Re: Nalco 0525 S.P.D. - diesel engine coolant water treatmen
PostPosted: Sat Aug 18, 2018 12:59 am 

Joined: Mon Aug 23, 2004 9:37 pm
Posts: 313
Location: Niles Canyon Railway, near Sunol, CA
Late today I received an e-mail from an expert at Nalco (an Ecolab company). He is trying to find information on Nalco 0525 S.P.D. This is very encouraging. Stay tuned for further developments!

- Doug Debs
Hazmat Manager, Niles Canyon Railway
cell 650-704-1487


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