Solvents and other chemical products are widely used for various applications such as degreasing, cleaning or even analyses particularly for the detection of organic contaminants as recommended in the ECSS documents dedicated to contamination field. While all of these products can emit VOCs, it should be noticed that some of them especially cited in the ECSS-Q-ST-70-05C protocols, are classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic substances (CMR) and targeted by REACh regulation. This is the case of:

- bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate as calibration standard, CMR category R1B - REACh non-compliant (annex XIV),

- chloroform as contamination solvent, CMR category 2 - REACh restrictions (annex XVII).

As health authorities in space industries or agencies are becoming more and more drastic regarding the use of these products, they are therefore destined to disappear in favor of non-toxic ones meeting current legislation.

Thus the aim of the collaborative study between CNES and Airbus Defence and Space was to identify and evaluate alternative substances which can replace those previously used for contamination analyses in order to improve the safety of the operators and limit the environmental impact with life cycle assessment consideration. Following a large literature and practices review, specific characterizations were carried out to determine the relevance of the identified solutions. This paper will present the methodology depending on the different applications (wiping, witness cleaning, standard replacement...).

In fine, validated alternative substances could be proposed for introduction into ECSS good practices and protocols.