Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi -

Wanting to get IBC Tote that was holding N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone. The MSDS - did not have any toxins. CA rules, suggests that this chemical can develop cancer....even if it was washed out?

Just checking. The seller says it is 100% safe.

Any thoughts?

My guess is no. Its use in the distillation of gasoline.

Thanks Tlrobb.

Does anyone else know if this is safe to use or not. I dont want to harm the fish and ultimately harm my family for consuming them.

First off, I know nothing about this compound other than what I've read so take this with a grain of salt. My guess is no one is going to be able to tell you definitively that this is safe. It does have a few things going for it in that it dissolves in water so you should be able to wash most of it out. It also apparently breaks down rapidly in the environment so it won't persist. Unfortunately they don't have a complete set of data on exposure

The Executive Summary here gives you the general idea and lists some other industries where this is used - http://www.who.int/ipcs/publications/cicad/en/cicad35.pdf

I'd probably keep looking but so far the indications are that you could use it if you were careful. Letting a tank like this sit for awhile, exposed to air before cleaning, wouldn't be a bad idea because of the short half-life of the chemical. Wash it out several times if you decide to use this tank. You might also let water stand in the tank in case any has leached into the walls of the tank.

Hope this helps