Tony Shelton
BS Detector, Esquire
How many millions are spent chasing sources of pollution that science proves aren't even a danger?
This paper is the result of over 30 years of continual testing regarding surfactants:
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10739149.2013.803777
This paper brings together over 250 published and unpublished studies on the environmental properties, fate, and toxicity of the four major, high-volume surfactant classes and relevant feedstocks. The surfactants and feedstocks covered include alcohol sulfate or alcohol sulfate (AS), alcohol ethoxysulfate (AES), linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS), alcohol ethoxylate (AE), and long-chain alcohol (LCOH). These chemicals are used in a wide range of personal care and cleaning products. To date, this is the most comprehensive report on these substance's chemical structures, use, and volume information, physical/chemical properties, environmental fate properties such as biodegradation and sorption, monitoring studies through sewers, wastewater treatment plants and eventual release to the environment, aquatic and sediment toxicity, and bioaccumulation information. These data are used to illustrate the process for conducting both prospective and retrospective risk assessments for large-volume chemicals and categories of chemicals with wide dispersive use. Prospective risk assessments of AS, AES, AE, LAS, and LCOH demonstrate that these substances, although used in very high volume and widely released to the aquatic environment, have no adverse impact on the aquatic or sediment environments at current levels of use. The retrospective risk assessments of these same substances have clearly demonstrated that the conclusions of the prospective risk assessments are valid and confirm that these substances do not pose a risk to the aquatic or sediment environments.
Some in our own industry have jumped on the bandwagon of demonizing the very eco friendly products we use. See - "detergents" (first page) http://pwna.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/BMP-Cosmetic-Cleaning.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detergent
It is our responsibility as an industry to keep up with the latest scientific discoveries. Especially when those discoveries rebut age old myths.
It always struck me as odd to see environmental cleanup crews cleaning ducks with dishwashing detergent after an oil spill, while at the same time banning even traces of surfactants from going into the storm drain (or sewer in some cases)
It also struck me as odd for some in our industry to argue against allowing sodium hydroxide into sewers claiming that "one drop" would damage the sewer when highly concentrated sodium hydroxide is sold nationwide as drain cleaner.
It's time to stop this ignorance and promote common sense rather than just going along with whatever "fear of the day" is on the environmentalists agenda.
A little bit of surfactant going in the drain as the side effect of regular cleaning beats leaving mother nature to wash oils, debris, trash and other garbage down the drains to clog up the MS4.
We are cleaners. There are tradeoffs in keeping our public environment clean. Let's all work together to show that those tradeoffs are worth it and we are a necessary industry for health and safety and not "c@smetic cleaners".
This paper is the result of over 30 years of continual testing regarding surfactants:
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10739149.2013.803777
This paper brings together over 250 published and unpublished studies on the environmental properties, fate, and toxicity of the four major, high-volume surfactant classes and relevant feedstocks. The surfactants and feedstocks covered include alcohol sulfate or alcohol sulfate (AS), alcohol ethoxysulfate (AES), linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS), alcohol ethoxylate (AE), and long-chain alcohol (LCOH). These chemicals are used in a wide range of personal care and cleaning products. To date, this is the most comprehensive report on these substance's chemical structures, use, and volume information, physical/chemical properties, environmental fate properties such as biodegradation and sorption, monitoring studies through sewers, wastewater treatment plants and eventual release to the environment, aquatic and sediment toxicity, and bioaccumulation information. These data are used to illustrate the process for conducting both prospective and retrospective risk assessments for large-volume chemicals and categories of chemicals with wide dispersive use. Prospective risk assessments of AS, AES, AE, LAS, and LCOH demonstrate that these substances, although used in very high volume and widely released to the aquatic environment, have no adverse impact on the aquatic or sediment environments at current levels of use. The retrospective risk assessments of these same substances have clearly demonstrated that the conclusions of the prospective risk assessments are valid and confirm that these substances do not pose a risk to the aquatic or sediment environments.
Some in our own industry have jumped on the bandwagon of demonizing the very eco friendly products we use. See - "detergents" (first page) http://pwna.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/BMP-Cosmetic-Cleaning.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detergent
It is our responsibility as an industry to keep up with the latest scientific discoveries. Especially when those discoveries rebut age old myths.
It always struck me as odd to see environmental cleanup crews cleaning ducks with dishwashing detergent after an oil spill, while at the same time banning even traces of surfactants from going into the storm drain (or sewer in some cases)
It also struck me as odd for some in our industry to argue against allowing sodium hydroxide into sewers claiming that "one drop" would damage the sewer when highly concentrated sodium hydroxide is sold nationwide as drain cleaner.
It's time to stop this ignorance and promote common sense rather than just going along with whatever "fear of the day" is on the environmentalists agenda.
A little bit of surfactant going in the drain as the side effect of regular cleaning beats leaving mother nature to wash oils, debris, trash and other garbage down the drains to clog up the MS4.
We are cleaners. There are tradeoffs in keeping our public environment clean. Let's all work together to show that those tradeoffs are worth it and we are a necessary industry for health and safety and not "c@smetic cleaners".