Every number on MetalworkingFluidAdditives.com, from an exposure limit to an additive treat rate, comes from a named primary source such as NIOSH, OSHA, ECHA, EUR-Lex, ISO or ASTM, and is written with its unit, its basis and its date. The method has three steps: a fact is sourced from the body that sets or measures it, checked against that source, and updated when the source changes.
The method applies to every page on metalworking fluids, their additives, operations, management, health effects and regulation.
Standards, regulations and exposure limits are checked against their issuing bodies, product values against the named data sheet, and every figure carries its source and date; see our methodology and fact-checking.
Which Sources Does MetalworkingFluidAdditives.com Use?#
MetalworkingFluidAdditives.com compiles its pages from primary sources: government and EU bodies such as NIOSH, CDC, OSHA, eCFR, EPA, HSE, ECHA, EUR-Lex and IARC, standards bodies such as ISO, ASTM and DIN, and peer-reviewed tribology and occupational-health journals. National bodies such as BAuA and DGUV supply German rules, and the Stockholm Convention supplies decisions on persistent organic pollutants. STLE publications are cited by title and date.
Primary sources by subject#
Each kind of value comes from the body that sets or measures it, listed by subject in the table below.
Each value on this site names the body below that sets or measures it, with the document and its date.
| Subject | Primary sources | What is taken from them | Where it is used on this site |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exposure limits and health effects | NIOSH and CDC, OSHA, HSE, IARC; peer-reviewed occupational-health journals | Exposure limits with fraction and averaging time, criteria documents, carcinogenicity classifications, epidemiology | Health pages: metalworking fluid health hazards |
| Chemical identity | PubChem, ECHA | CAS numbers and structures (PubChem); EC numbers (ECHA) | Substance pages: metalworking fluid additive substances |
| EU classification and chemical regulation | ECHA (CLP Annex VI, C&L database, Candidate List), EUR-Lex, Stockholm Convention | Hazard classifications with index numbers, restrictions, biocide approvals, dates of application | Regulation pages |
| US regulation | eCFR, Federal Register, OSHA, EPA | Permissible exposure limits, TSCA rules, waste rules | metalworking fluid regulations |
| German rules | BAuA (TRGS), DGUV | Technical rules and statutory accident insurance guidance | Regulation pages |
| Standards and test methods | ISO, ASTM, DIN | Classifications, test procedures, editions and withdrawal status | metalworking fluid test methods |
| Fluid management | HSE guidance, OSHA best-practices manual, NIOSH | Check methods, check frequencies, control measures | coolant management |
| Additive chemistry and performance | Peer-reviewed tribology journals; STLE publications | Mechanisms, treat-rate ranges with their basis, test results | metalworking fluid additives |
Supplier data and other secondary sources#
Supplier data sheets, product bulletins and trade-press articles are cited only as the source of one product's value, named as "one supplier's data sheet" or "one supplier's bulletin" in the same sentence. A value from one product is never written as a property of a fluid type, and a value is called common only where two independent sources give it.
No company is ranked, and a maker is named only as the source of one product's value. Which sources may be cited at all, and how requests are disclosed, is set out in the editorial policy.
How Is Every Fact Checked?#
Every fact is checked against its primary source before it is published: the value, its unit and basis, the instrument or document that sets it, and the date or edition that source carries. A value that two sources state differently is decided by the precedence below, never averaged.
Which source wins when two sources disagree#
This reference groups its sources into five tiers, with official legal texts first and supplier documents last.
- Official legal texts and regulators' registers: EUR-Lex, eCFR, the Federal Register and ECHA
- Standards from ISO, ASTM and DIN, in the edition cited
- Government guidance and criteria documents from NIOSH, OSHA, HSE, BAuA and DGUV
- Peer-reviewed journal articles
- Supplier data sheets, product bulletins and trade-press articles, cited only as the source of one product's value
For identity, ECHA decides EC numbers and CLP classifications, and PubChem decides CAS numbers and structures. A newer official source beats an older one, and a supplier data sheet never beats a standard or a regulation.
Units, bases, fractions and averaging times#
Every value carries its unit and basis: in-use concentrations in percent by volume of concentrate in the diluted fluid, additive treat rates in percent of the concentrate, and exposure limits in mg/m³ with the aerosol fraction and the averaging time. Units are metric first with US units in parentheses, such as °C (°F).
A worked example shows the format. OSHA has no standard specific to metalworking fluids; the limits that apply are 5 mg/m³ as an 8-hour TWA for mineral oil mist and, for particulates not otherwise regulated, 15 mg/m³ total and 5 mg/m³ respirable (29 CFR 1910.1000, Table Z-1). The UK's EH40/2005 (4th edition, 2020) sets no workplace exposure limit for metalworking fluids, and the page says so rather than borrowing another country's value. Every limit by jurisdiction is listed on metalworking fluid exposure limits.
Hazard classifications: Annex VI first#
A hazard classification is written as the harmonized CLP Annex VI entry with its index number where one exists, as the majority classification notified to the ECHA C&L Inventory where none exists, and otherwise as a reference to the supplier's safety data sheet. Aggregated database percentages and minority self-classifications are never the classification.
A superseded value is never quoted. Boric acid is written as Annex VI index 005-007-00-2, Repr. 1B H360FD without a specific concentration limit since 17 December 2022 (ATP17, Regulation (EU) 2021/849); the earlier limit is not quoted.
What happens to a value that cannot be verified#
A value that cannot be confirmed in its primary source is not published, not hedged and not attributed to a secondary source. Where a status is pending, the page says "pending" with the expected date when the source gives one. A gap stays visible rather than being filled with an estimate.
How Are Dates, Editions and Updates Handled?#
Every standard is cited with its edition, every rule with its instrument, article and date, and every page shows the date it was first published and the date it was last updated.
Editions and dates on every standard and rule#
ISO 6743-7, the classification of metalworking fluids, is cited as ISO 6743-7:1986, last confirmed in 2020, with the result of its 2025 review pending.
Every edition, confirmation and withdrawal is tracked the same way on the metalworking fluid standards index. A rule that applies from a future date is written in the future tense with that date, never as already in force.
What triggers a review of a page#
A page is reviewed when one of its sources changes; the six triggers are listed below.
- CLP adaptations to technical progress (ATPs), such as the IPBC change that applies from 1 February 2027
- REACH Candidate List updates and Annex XVII amendments
- EU biocidal active substance approvals, renewals and expiries
- Stockholm Convention decisions and EU POPs amendments
- Revisions by OSHA, NIOSH, HSE and of the German TRGS
- New editions of ISO, ASTM and DIN documents, checked once a year
IPBC is classified under Annex VI index 616-212-00-7 today, and from 1 February 2027 Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/1222 (ATP23) replaces Acute Tox. 3 H331 with Acute Tox. 2 H330; the IPBC page carries both, each with its date.
Published and last-updated dates#
Every page shows two dates: the date it was first published and the date its facts were last changed. A correction changes the last-updated date.
How to Report an Error#
Report an error by email to editorial@metalworkingfluidadditives.com with the page address, the value in question and the primary source that contradicts it; the value is checked against that source and corrected on the page.
Other questions go to the same address, listed on contact the editorial team.
The editorial team checks the reported value against the primary source using the precedence above. A confirmed error is corrected and the page's last-updated date changes.
Report an error: editorial@metalworkingfluidadditives.com
What Else Readers Ask About This Reference#
Readers of a reference on metalworking fluids also ask who writes the pages, whether companies pay for placement, whether the pages give medical or legal advice, and what data the site collects.
Who Writes the Pages?#
Pages are published under the byline MetalworkingFluidAdditives.com Editorial Team and follow the method on this page. No page names an individual author or claims a reviewer. The purpose and scope of the site are described on about MetalworkingFluidAdditives.com.
Does Any Company Pay for Placement?#
No: no company pays for placement, rankings or content, and the site sells no fluid and no additive. Requests sent through the site's forms go to independent providers and suppliers, and the companies that will receive them have not yet been chosen. The disclosure printed under every form reads: "Requests go to independent providers and suppliers. No company pays for placement; see our editorial policy."
Are the Pages Medical or Legal Advice?#
No: health pages describe hazards, exposure routes, limits and controls with their sources and give no diagnosis or treatment, and regulatory pages state what an instrument requires, with article and date. They never state whether a reader's product complies. Health questions go to an occupational physician and compliance questions to the competent authority.
What Data Does the Site Collect?#
The site runs no analytics or advertising vendors and keeps form data for 24 months. Details are in the privacy policy.