[Pharmwaste] FW: [eppnet] EU Surfactant rule causes new biodegradability labeling

[Tenace, Laurie]

Forwarded from the eppnet list serve - sorry for any cross posting (and
thanks to Rick Reibstein)

 

Laurie 

 

This article in the online Environmental Science and Technology is copied
below, but the links probably don't work - here's the URL.

 

http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/esthag-w/2006/jan/policy/mb_detergents
.html

 

Policy News -

January 4, 2006


EU finalizes updated surfactant testing for home detergents


The new law also calls for detailed product labels.


All detergents now for sale in European shops are sporting new labels that
name the optical brighteners, perfumes, and preservation agents inside each
container, regardless of their concentrations. The surfactants that give
these products their cleaning abilities have undergone extensive
pre-manufacture testing, before arriving in the stores to ensure that they
will not persist in the environment.

Five different EU directives from the 1970s already regulate detergents'
biodegradability. The new rule
<http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/chemicals/detergents/index.htm>  builds
on them and creates a single text. The rule will improve trade in the
internal detergents market and do more to protect the aquatic environment and
consumers' health, the EU notes.

The regulation covers all types of detergent surfactants. Previously, about
10% were excluded because no agreed-upon testing methods existed. Those
excluded were cationic and amphoteric surfactants used primarily in fabric
softeners and in dishwashing products.

Perhaps the most fundamental change requires manufacturers to prove
"ultimate" aerobic biodegradation of surfactants. This test measures the
complete destruction of the organic carbon in the surfactants into CO2,
water, and mineral salts, a process that takes place in sewage plants.

The change replaces the less-demanding "primary test" required previously,
which measures changes in a surfactant's structure that can result in a loss
of surface-active properties. The main reason behind ensuring that
surfactants passed this test was to prevent foaming. Manufacturers don't have
to seek governmental approval before marketing these products, but they have
to be ready to produce the appropriate test data on request.

Detergent manufacturers also must furnish more informative product labels.
For the first time, they must list optical brighteners, perfumes, and
preservation agents, irrespective of their concentration, as well as certain
fragrance ingredients that occur in concentrations of more than 0.01% by
weight.

When the European Commission (EC) first proposed
<http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/esthag-w/2002/oct/policy/mb_ecsurfact
ants.html>  this regulation in 2002, the surfactant industry disliked the
test data requirements. Officials at medium and small companies are still
worried that the data gathering requirements are too expensive and could
force some closures, says Christophe Sene of the European Committee of
Surfactants and their Organic Intermediates, a trade group. "Most surfactants
will meet the criteria, but the big burden is data gathering. The quality of
the data will be better, but there will be a cost associated with that."

In the documents, the EC notes that it will report on the environmental
impacts of detergent phosphates by April 2007. Using the results of a
scientific evaluation already under way, EC officials may propose to regulate
phosphates more tightly, including replacements. The EC will also report on
whether the ultimate biodegradability test should be extended to
nonsurfactant ingredients, such as phosphates, zeolites, and perfumes, by
April 2009.

The text of the regulation can be found at
http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/chemicals/detergents/index.htm. -MARIA
BURKE <http://pubs.acs.org/journals/esthag/bios.html> 

 

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