On the 25th, Kukbo Science Co., Ltd., a quarantine company led by CEO An Ho-young, announced that it has developed an emulsion insecticide that replaces the harmful substance N-Methylpyrrolidone (hereinafter NMP) solvent used in insecticides with an EWG (Environmental Working Group, a U.S. non-profit environmental organization) Grade 1 green solvent used in cosmetics.
In 2021, the Ministry of Environment announced that under Article 13 of the Chemical Substances Control Act (Standards for Handling Hazardous Chemicals), "Anyone handling hazardous chemicals must comply with the following standards for handling hazardous chemicals," which requires compliance with handling standards such as disaster prevention equipment, chemicals, separation of storage warehouses, and hiring hazardous chemical managers when handling even 1kg of hazardous chemicals.
Therefore, products using more than 0.3% NMP solvent mean that the emulsion product itself is classified as a hazardous chemical.
Currently, most emulsion-type insecticides sold domestically use more than 10% of a solvent called N-Methylpyrrolidone (NMP: Cas No. 872-50-4), and mixtures containing more than 0.3% of this substance are classified as hazardous chemicals. Therefore, according to the Chemical Substances Control Act's standards for handling hazardous chemicals, they should be handled accordingly; however, a Kukbo Science official explained that there are not many companies that comply with these regulations.
Furthermore, since NMP used at over 10% is a hazardous chemical, if the quantity exceeds a certain amount for display, storage, or transportation, a plan for display, storage, and transportation must be prepared, and containers or packaging of hazardous chemicals must be labeled accordingly. However, in reality, these requirements are not properly followed.
More seriously, NMP is known to have severe effects on human health, and its use is already restricted in the United States and the European Union. In particular, the European Union added NMP to the restricted substances list in March 2020, and currently, manufacturing, use, and sale are prohibited if the chemical concentration exceeds 0.3%.
CEO An Ho-young of Kukbo Science Co., Ltd. said, "Finding a safe substance to replace NMP, which is widely used in most insecticides sold domestically, was not as easy as expected, but after bold investment in development costs and research over the past five years, we developed an alternative solvent using an EWG Grade 1 green solvent also used in baby cosmetics." He added, "As a result, sellers and consumers no longer need to comply with hazardous chemical handling standards, saving costs and manpower required to equip facilities for handling and selling the products, and workers and environments where insecticides are applied can actually feel safer."
Kukbo Science Co., Ltd. is currently replacing emulsion insecticide products containing NMP with EWG Grade 1 green solvents and plans to complete the work on all emulsion products by mid-2023 at the earliest. Additionally, to help consumers easily identify products with EWG green solvents applied, the EWG green grade mark has been displayed on the products.
The company stated that this project is significant because it challenged the chemical product manufacturers, who had been competing solely on price, to develop a new solvent with high safety, achieving better-than-expected results for the current and future environment.
As the nation's first quarantine company, Kukbo Science Co., Ltd. will continue to strive to create a safe environment and a healthy future, and hopes that this movement will positively influence consumers concerned about the use of chemical insecticide products.
More detailed information can be found on the Kukbo Science Co., Ltd. website.
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