the central nervous system. Therefore, you should use solvents only in well-ventilated spaces. You should wear gloves, an apron, and a face shield to protect your skin and eyes. You should also don an approved respirator to prevent breathing of the toxic vapors. Without protection, skin lesions, much like acne, may develop. If you do not use rubber gloves, your hands will lose their fatty protection and the skin will dry, crack, and become infected. Some solvents are chlorinated. When solvents contain more than 24 percent by volume of chlorinated materials, they must be kept in specially marked containers. You must ensure the equipment in which the solvent is used is designed and operated to prevent escape of the solvent. All personnel who work near chlorinated solvents should be careful to avoid breathing the vapors. While the vapors from some solvents are more toxic than others, prolonged breathing of any fumes presents a serious health hazard. Keep all containers holding paints, lacquers, removers, thinners, cleaners, or any volatile or flammable liquids tightly closed when not in use. Store all flammable and volatile liquids in a separate building or a flammable liquids storeroom. The approved flammable storage locker should be well ventilated. It should be located where its contents will not be exposed to excessive heat, sparks, flame, or direct rays of the sun. Storage areas must also have a fixed CO₂ or Halon extinguishing system. All electrical fixtures, outlets, and other wiring must be of the explosionproof class. Place wiping rags and other flammable waste material in tightly closed containers. You must empty these containers at the end of the work shift. You should keep in mind that the temperature inside the paint locker could become very high, especially during the summer months. As the temperature increases, liquids expand. Maintenance personnel have received serious chemical bums on the face, hands, and arms from opening a hot can of solvent. This hazard increases many times when personnel work with the more volatile liquids, such as paint strippers. Before opening a container of solvent that has been stored in a high-temperature area, you should cool it down. You can do this by using a stream of water. Use common sense around flammable and volatile liquids. When storing containers, you must handle them carefully to avoid breakage and spillage. If you stack the containers, the lower containers may be overloaded, causing leaks to develop along seams. This results in a loss of material. To prevent an accumulation of water and debris in their upper ends, store the containers on their sides or cover them with a tarpaulin. Before you store containers, you should inspect them for leaks and ensure complete closure of all plugs, caps, and covers. Inspect stored containers frequently for leakage, rust, or any other condition that may cause a problem. Correct deficiencies immediately. When storing materials outdoors, you should protect the containers from the weather with tarpaulins or sheds. This reduces the likelihood of water contamination. When you use tarpaulins, lash them in place securely and position them so that air is free to circulate around the containers. Another hazard associated with solvents (and to a certain extent with all cleaning materials) is their effect on the material being cleaned. Some solvents, such as methyl ethyl ketone and toluene, will damage rubber, synthetic rubber, and asphalt coverings. You should always consider this damaging effect when selecting cleaning materials. Most cleaning materials may do a good job in removing dirt, grease, oil, and exhaust gas deposits. However, they may also soften and ruin an otherwise good paint coating. For specific information on solvents, you should check NAVAIR 01-l A-509. Some solvents, consumable materials and their characteristics are described in the following text. Solvent, Dry-cleaning. This material is a petroleum distillate commonly used in aircraft cleaning. It is a general all-purpose cleaner available in three types and is used for metals, painted surfaces, and fabrics. It is applied by spraying, brushing, dipping, or wiping. Aliphatic Naphtha. Aliphatic naphtha is an aliphatic hydrocarbon product used as an alternate compound for cleaning acrylics. You may also use it for general cleaning purposes when you want fast evaporation and no film residue. Apply by dipping and wiping. DO NOT rub saturated surfaces vigorously. DO NOT use aliphatic naphtha with a synthetic wiping cloth, because it is a highly volatile and flammable solvent. Because it has a flash point below 80°F, use only in well-ventilated areas. Safety Solvent. Methyl chloroform is for use where a high flash point is required. Use it for general cleaning and grease removal from assembled and disassembled engine components in addition to spot 4-7