Maybe OZX is right.
I have been sympathetic with B&H because I really don't know what has caused the present shipping difficulties. I'm sure something happened.
ValueJet 592 was a LONG time ago (as some members have opined).
There has been a lot of good, and well meaning input from the membership, on this thread (mixed in with a little thrashing). HenryP seems to feel that letting things slide is better than supplying perspective from B&H. That is a management style most of us have grown used to but can't easily accept.
I checked the
Edwal LFN wetting agent's SDS sheet and, I believe, the team at B&H could ship that product anywhere without having any problems...even by air.
A lot of Wetting Agent concentrates have a dangerous amount of
Isopropyl Alcohol in them that renders them within the "FLAMMABLE" category of Hazardous Materials. It may be worth noting that this level of flammability is usually below that found in "Bottled in Bond" bourbons (100 proof) and, certainly, far below any of the 151 proof Rums.
If I read the SDS for the Edwal LFN wetting agent correctly...it seems to me that the IPA content in that product is recorded at less than 15 per cent. The SDS for LFN seems to provide a Flash Point of 325 degrees Fahrenheight.
The
SDS for Sprint Systems' wetting agent has the IPA content listed between 25-35 per cent with a soupçon of formaldehyde... <5 per cent... in the mix (if I recall correctly, the formaldehyde was in the wetting agent to "tan" the gelatin of the emulsion a bit as the step of the process when one used the wetting agent was the time when the gelatin layer would be the softest, most swollen, and most likely to be damaged) . I think that the actual amount of IPA in the Sprint mix is tighter than the 10 percent variable implies (it certainly was when I was mixing it). If I still can read an SDS with some comprehension, the IPA content of the Sprint wetting agent puts it in the level 3 category for both flammability and health concerns.
It's like an alcohol bomb (IF it wound up in a fire!) in a plastic bottle with a touch of formaldehyde thrown in for...like I said. Again, one should remain aware that a regular bottle of your average hard liquor at 80 proof is 40 per cent alcohol by volume. Sprint advertises their wetting agent as a "super concentrate". If I recall correctly, I recommended a reduction of that concentration for obvious reasons.
My point is...wetting agents have been, usually, based on IPA...IPA breaks the surface tension of water and, at the same time, reduces drying times by about half. The undesirable corollary is a pronounced flammability...the higher the concentration of IPA...the higher the flammability.
They have, usually, been classified as "FLAMMABLE" rather than "CORROSIVE". Perhaps the people at B&H have simply grouped all wetting agents into a class and have not yet seen that the Edwal product has been formulated in a way that removes it from either of those, hazardous, categories. There may be other wetting agents that are not hazardous in any regard and may be similar to dishwashing liquids but I am out of touch with newer things.
It's a blow by blow account of the saga. Worth a look
