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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Forwarded from the eppnet list serve –
sorry for any cross posting (and thanks to Rick Reibstein)</span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Laurie </span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'>This article in the online Environmental
Science and Technology is copied below, but the links probably don't work -
here's the URL.</span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'><a
href="http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/esthag-w/2006/jan/policy/mb_detergents.html">http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/esthag-w/2006/jan/policy/mb_detergents.html</a></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Policy News –</span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>January 4, 2006</span></font></p>
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<h1><b><font size=6 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:24.0pt'>EU
finalizes updated surfactant testing for home detergents</span></font></b></h1>
<h2><b><font size=5 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:18.0pt'>The
new law also calls for detailed product labels.</span></font></b></h2>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>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.</span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Five
different EU directives from the 1970s already regulate detergents’
biodegradability. The <a
href="http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/chemicals/detergents/index.htm"
title="New legislation on detergents">new rule</a> 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.</span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>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.</span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>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
CO<sub>2</sub>, water, and mineral salts, a process that takes place in sewage
plants.</span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>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.</span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>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.</span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>When the
European Commission (EC) <a
href="http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/esthag-w/2002/oct/policy/mb_ecsurfactants.html"
title="EC proposes tough new tests for surfactants">first proposed</a> 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.”</span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>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.</span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The text
of the regulation can be found at <a
href="http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/chemicals/detergents/index.htm"
title="New legislation on detergents">http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/chemicals/detergents/index.htm</a>.
<span class=author>—<a
href="http://pubs.acs.org/journals/esthag/bios.html"
title="About the News and Features Staff">MARIA BURKE</a></span></span></font></p>
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