From: Monona Rossol <0000030664c37427-dmarc-request**At_Symbol_Here**LISTS.PRINCETON.EDU>
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Safety headlines from Google (8 articles)
Date: Mon, 1 May 2017 09:31:22 -0400
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: 15bc435597e-445b-10a33**At_Symbol_Here**webprd-m15.mail.aol.com
In-Reply-To <06895C24-11EF-4E1C-BBD0-28126669F57C**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org>



NEW YORK TO REQUIRE DISCLOSURE OF CHEMICALS IN CLEANING PRODUCTS
Tags: us_NY, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical

New York is poised to become the first U.S. state to require manufacturers to disclose ingredients in household cleaning products. Under a regulation proposed on April 25 by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D), manufacturers would be required to reveal all of the chemicals, including impurities, in cleaning products sold in New York. In addition, manufacturers would have to provide a range of how much of each chemical by weight is in their cleaning products.. Companies would need to display the information on their websites, which will eventually be linked to a database called the Interstate Chemicals Clearinghouse. "These new regulations will help protect New Yorkers and give them the peace of mind of knowing what's in their homes and in their communities," Cuomo says. The American Cleaning Institute, a trade group for the U.S. soaps and detergents industry, claims that manufacturers already provide "detailed information online about the ingredients in the products they use safely and effectively every day." New York's Department of Environmental Conservation is accepting comments until June 14 on the draft disclosure certification form that cleaning product manufacturers would need to file to sell their products in New York.

There is a HUGE history to this bill starting back in the 1970s.  Each governor who hauls up this old bill seems to imply they are doing something new, but the bill has been on the books since the phosphate detergents were banned in the 1970s.  It is a fascinating and LONG story that I don't have time to go back into my archives to flesh out for you. 

Basically what happened was this.  When the legislature was in the process of banning the phosphates, detergent industry reps testified that the legislature should not pass this ban because the substitutes could be even more hazardous. So true. But the smart legislators recognized a threat when they saw it, so they countered by passing a bill that requires ALL CLEANING PRODUCTS to reveal all their ingredients including impurities.  And the detergent industry backed off.

Oh, if only people would have embraced and run with this idea then.  

And way back then, I was in a lab doing BOD tests on new detergents.  How dumb was that test?  It only determined that whatever the detergent was, bacteria wouldn't eat it. That leaves an infinity of possible chemical detergents. And that's how we ended up with, among other notables, the nonylphenol ethoxylates whose presence in even minute amounts in water cause aquatic species to develop the teeny weeny peeny syndrome so they can't reproduce.

Monona Rossol, M.S., M.F.A., Industrial Hygienist
President:  Arts, Crafts & Theater Safety, Inc.
Safety Officer: Local USA829, IATSE
181 Thompson St., #23
New York, NY 10012     212-777-0062
actsnyc**At_Symbol_Here**cs.com   www.artscraftstheatersafety.org

 


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