EOA Posts List of Safer Chemical Ingredients

From the USEPA:

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today posted a List of Safer Chemical Ingredients that contains chemicals that meet stringent criteria applied by the Design for the Environment (DfE) Safer Product Labeling Program. This program recognizes products that are high-performance and cost-effective while using the safest chemical ingredients. At present, more than 2,800 common household and other products carry the DfE Safer Product Label. This list of safer chemical ingredients will help product manufacturers identify chemicals that the DfE program has evaluated and identified as safer alternatives.  This list only includes chemicals in products that were voluntarily submitted for evaluation through the DfE Safer Product Labeling Program. There may be other chemicals not included in this list that are also safer."

The safer ingredients list can be found here. 

EPA Issues Analysis of Alternatives for Bisphenol A (BPA) Uses

The USEPA has issued a draft analysis of alternative chemicals that can be used instead of Bisphenol A (BPA) in thermal paper. According to EPA's Design for the Environmenet (DfE) program:

This draft report is an assessment of 19 chemical alternatives that may substitute for BPA, which is used as a developer in thermal paper. In addition, this report provides background information about how thermal paper is made, and considerations for choosing an alternative. A chemical's inclusion in the report does not constitute EPA endorsement. This draft report does not identify functional chemicals with low concern for all human health and environmental hazard endpoints; all of the alternatives are associated with some trade-offs.

The focus on thermal paper is because it "is widely used for cash register receipts, airline tickets, event and cinema tickets, and grocery store adhesive labels" and because this narrow focus was one area where alternatives exist. In addition, "workers in certain occupations, such as cashiers and restaurant servers who handle thermal paper often, may be at greater risk of exposure." Young children and teenagers entering the workforce may have especially high exposures. Concerns for BPA exposure include endocrine disruption and neurological changes.

The full 492-page PDF can be viewed or downloaded here.

The draft analysis can also be read online as smaller files here.

EPA Identifies Substitutes for Toxic Flame Retardant Chemical

The USEPA has released a draft report on alternatives to the "toxic flame retardant chemical known as decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE)." Acting Assistant Administrator Jim Jones had mentioned at a Senate hearing last week that the Agency was in the final steps of eliminating DecaBDE from products. This new action is part of EPA's Design for the Environment (DfE) program. The draft report being released "profiles the environmental and human health hazards on 30 alternatives to decaBDE, which will be phased out of production by December 2013."

EPA notes that "the alternatives to decaBDE characterized in the report are already on the market and will be used increasingly as decaBDE is phased out." EPA also notes that while overall the alternatives are considered good replacements for decaBDE, they have "differing hazard characteristics and are associated with trade-offs."

More information can be found in EPA's news release.

The full 812-page alternatives assessment for decaBDE can be viewed as a PDF here.

More information about the flame retardants alternatives project can be found here.

More information on EPA's DfE program can be found here.

EPA Issues Design for the Environment Report on Li-ion Batteries and Nanotechnology

According to EPA:

EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics and Office of Research and Development (ORD) are pleased to announce that the draft final report for the life-cycle assessment (LCA) conducted by the Design for the Environment (DfE)/ORD Li-ion Batteries and Nanotechnology Partnership has been posted on EPA’s DfE Program web site for a 60-day public comment period, at http://epa.gov/dfe/pubs/projects/lbnp/index.htm.   The LCA results for advanced batteries used in plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles are expected to help promote the responsible development of these emerging energy systems, including nanotechnology innovations, leading to reduced overall environmental impacts and the reduced use and release of more toxic materials.  The LCA study identified key materials and processes within the batteries’ life cycles that are likely to pose the greatest environmental impacts, including occupational and public toxicity impacts, which will help the Li-ion battery industry to identify environmentally sound process, material, and design choices.  The partnership included battery manufacturers, suppliers, and recyclers, as well as representatives from academia, trade and research institutions, and the Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory.

 

For further information, please contact Kathy Hart in OPPT's DfE Program, at (202)564-8787, or by E-mail at: hart.kathy@epa.gov.

EPA Kicks Off Initiative to Find Alternatives to Phthalates

The kickoff meeting of a partnership between the USEPA and interested parties was held August 24, 2011 in the Washington DC area.  The goal is for EPA and industry to work within the Design for the Environment (DfE) framework to "evaluate phthalates and potential alternatives based on a range of human health and environmental endpoints, and provide this information to stakeholders for informed decision making."

Participants in the kickoff meeting included a variety of stakeholders ranging from manufacturers, state and local regulatory agencies, trade associations, international regulatory bodies, and NGOs. Individual manufactures and users of phthalates present included ExxonMobil, BASF, IBM, Dow Chemical, and others.  It is expected that future activities will include development of a list of existing potential alternatives and an evaluation of the potential environmental and human health effects of those alternatives that seem most viable.  The next meeting of the partnership initiative is will be in October 2001, with early spring 2013 planned for a final report on the project.

An action plan on which this DfE initiative is based was released in December of 2009.  The phthalates identified in the action plan for assessment are:

• Dibutyl phthalate (DBP)
• Diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP)
• Butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP) 
• Di-n-pentyl phthalate (DnPP) 
• Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) 
• Di-n-octyl phthalate (DnOP) 
• Di-isononyl phthalate (DINP) and associated chemical*
• Di-isodecyl phthalate (DIDP) and associated chemical*

 *each are a mixture of two phthalates

The partnership participants will decide on which substances offer the potential as alternatives.  Collaboration with ongoing reviews by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (due to use of phthalates in children's toys and baby bottles) and the Green Chemistry in Commerce Council will also be part of the review process.

More information the Design for the Environment Program can be found here.

EPA's Design for the Environment (DfE) Issues Final Alternatives Assessment Criteria

The USEPA Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics has released its final alternatives assessment criteria for evaluating human and environmental effects in accordance with its Design for the Environment (DfE) program.  DfE helps companies, states and other organizations to "identify safer alternatives to chemicals that may pose a concern to human health and the environment."  More information on the DfE program can be found on EPAs web site.

DfE Alternatives Assessments are "multi-stakeholder partnerships convened to evaluate priority chemicals and functional alternatives."  The goal is to "inform substitution to safer alternatives and reduce the likelihood of unintended consequences that might result if poorly understood alternatives are chosen."  In other words, they don't want to replace one bad chemical with another bad chemical just because they don't know enough about it.  According to DfE, its "expertise and focus is on chemical hazard," and encourages stakeholders to "assist with the selection of the scope of the alternatives assessment, help EPA consider economic realities, and identify likely functional alternatives for evaluation."

So whereas REACH in the EU specifies substances of very high concern and requires authorization for continued use (along with a substitution plan), the DfE program works directly with companies and other stakeholders to fix the problem together.

EPA is currently preparing DfE alternatives assessments for Bisphenol A (BPA), Decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE), and Nonylphenol ethoxylate (NPE) surfactants.  The draft reports for public comment are expected to be released by EPA later this year.  In addition, EPA has underway an alternatives assessment for Hexabromocyclodecane (HBCD) in polystyrene insulating foam.  And EPA also plans to conduct an alternatives assessment for phthalates with a kickoff meeting scheduled for August 24, 2011.

Version 2.0 of the Alternatives Assessment Criteria document can be downloaded as a PDF here.

More information and links to the phthalates kickoff meeting signup materials can be found in the right sidebar of the DfE page.

EPA Heralds 2500 "Safer Products" Under Design for the Environment Program

Last week, "as part of the Earth Day 2011 tribute," the USEPA announced that "more than 2,500 products are now authorized by the agency under its Design for the Environment (DfE) Safer Product Labeling Program."  These products now can display the DfE label, which signifies that they "do not contain known chemicals of potential concern, like carcinogens, reproductive or developmental toxicants."  And coming shortly, says EPA, will be a requirement for "manufacturers with products that bear the DfE logo to disclose their ingredients to consumers."

According to Assistant Administrator Steve Owens in the press release:

“EPA’s DfE Program helps empower people to choose products that are safer for their families and our planet. The DfE program provides important information about the safety of certain products that contain chemicals and gives consumers confidence that DfE products meet rigorous requirements.”

As part of the DfE program, EPA "conducts a scientific evaluation to ensure that candidate products are formulated from the safest possible ingredients," then works with manufacturers to find safer alternatives. The DfE label "means that EPA has screened each ingredient for potential human health and environmental effects and that the product contains only ingredients that, in EPA’s scientific opinion, pose the least concern among chemicals in their class."

More information on the DfE Safer Product Labeling Program and Standard for Safer Products can be found at: http://epa.gov/dfe.

EPA Publishes Alternative Assessment Criteria for Design for the Environment

"EPA's Design for the Environment (DfE) works in partnership with industry, environmental groups, and academia to reduce risk to people and the environment by finding ways to prevent pollution. For more than 15 years, through partnership projects, DfE has evaluated human health and environmental concerns associated with traditional and alternative chemicals and processes in a range of industries. These analyses have empowered hundreds of businesses to select safer chemicals and technologies. DfE focuses on industries that combine the potential for chemical risk reduction with a strong motivation to make lasting, positive changes."

Recently they published an Alternative Assessment Criteria for Hazard Evaluation Document.

Short on time today, but will be back later.

As Europe Bans BPA in Baby Bottles, USEPA Works with BPA Manufacturers in Design for the Enviroment

Bisphenol-A, more commonly known as BPA, has gotten a lot of attention lately.  As noted last week, the EU has voted to ban BPA from baby bottles beginning in March 2011, and not long ago Canada declared BPA to be CEPA-toxic.  Meanwhile in the USA the Environmental Protection Agency is following through on at least some of the provisions of its Chemical Action Plan for BPA.  One of those provisions was for EPA to engage industry in its Design for the Environment program, or DfE.

Initially the DfE program is focusing on "finding safer alternatives to BPA used as a developer for dyes in thermal paper, which is often used in cash register or sales receipts."  This narrowing down into a specific use of the chemical is typical of DfE, where the goal is to examine all the ways to solve one particular identified risk area.  In the case of BPA, the DfE program officially kicked off in July 2010 and is just now compiling a list of viable BPA alternatives and alternative technologies.  The goal is to complete a draft evaluation of ecological and human health hazards and environmental fate by May of 2011, with a final report in October 2011.

According to the DfE site, "some receipts made of thermal paper may now contain as much as 10 mg of BPA, which could pose a risk for human exposure, as well as account for substantial environmental releases of BPA. The goal of this assessment is to facilitate movement towards safer alternatives used in thermal paper."

More information on the program, and a list of participating companies and their representatives, see here.  Participants include thermal paper manufacturers and converters, chemical manufacturers, retailers, trade associations, trade unions, NGOs, government representatives, green chemistry consultants, and others.  All working to find solutions for a particular identified chemical use pattern.

EPA Celebrates 20th Anniversary of the Pollution Protection Act

You read about it in the papers, right?  Probably not.  In any case the USEPA celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 last week during, not surprisingly, National Pollution Prevention Week.  The goal of the Act, affectionately called P2 (for Pollution prevention) "is reducing or eliminating waste at the source by modifying production processes, promoting the use of non-toxic or less-toxic substances, implementing conservation techniques, and re-using materials rather than putting them into the waste stream."

Doesn't sound too sexy, but P2 has "served as the foundation for efforts that have significantly reduced pollution at its source -- helping to protect children and families from the risks of exposure to pollutants, as well as reducing the amount of pollutants released into the environment."  So last week the EPA reminded people of the "the success of EPA programs such as Energy Star, WaterSense, EPEAT and DfE, which have collectively helped save billions of dollars, preserve precious resources, reduce waste and the use of toxic chemicals, and protect public and environmental health."

By the way, the "DfE" in the above paragraph stands for "Design for the Environment," and is just one of the programs in which EPA has been working with manufacturers, formulators, and downstream users to find better, more environmentally friendly ways to accomplish the same goals.  I'll do a program review of DfE at some point in the future.

As President Obama notes in his P2 message,

“Together, we can work to create a cleaner, safer world for our children and grandchildren to inherit.”

More information P2 can be found on the EPA web site.