Question:
Hi Jim I am doing some research for a veteran I represent. Have you by any chance ever come across any data with the specific ingredients contained in the original formulary of PD680 before it was replaced with PRF 680? Any information you might have would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Jim's Reply:
There are so many solvents that we used it's hard to keep track of all of them. Benzene, Acetone, PCE, TCE...there are many more. I used Trichloroethylene to clean steam pipes of autoclaves in the hospital where I worked and we thought little of safety precautions.
Since I worked in the operating rooms at the 98th General Hospital, we had access to Ether...another powerful cleaner (and anesthetic)...not recommended because it's highly flammable...it came in lead and tin cans so it couldn't spark and explode.
Cosmoline was a petroleum based substance that the Army coated everything (particularly weapons in storage) with and the only thing that would take it off was a rag dipped in a gallon of TCE and a lot of elbow grease.
I doubt that I have any knowledge of solvents that you haven't already seen. I did a quick search and this was new to me https://ecolink.com/info/pd-680-vs-prf-680-degreasing-solvents/ and may be similar to what you're looking for.
For what it's worth, any time I want to help a veteran service connect TCE or other solvent exposure I go straight to an IMO. The Independent Medical Opinion by a board certified expert shouldn't be underestimated when it comes to winning claims. TCE and other solvent exposure and a given disabling condition can be a hard one to pin down without an expert opinion. https://www.vawatchdog.org/imo-ime-medical-opinions-exams.html
Good luck!