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DfE Screens for Safer Chemical Ingredients
Each ingredient in a formulation has a role to play in making a product work. Whether it is to aid in cleaning by reducing surface tension (surfactants), dissolve or suspend materials (solvents), reduce water hardness (chelating agents), or provide a scent (fragrances), each ingredient type has a function. Within these "functional classes", many ingredients share similar toxicological and environmental fate characteristics. As a result, DfE focuses its review of formulation ingredients on the key (environmental and human health) characteristics of concern within a functional class. This approach allows formulators to use those ingredients with the lowest hazard in their functional class, while still formulating well-performing products.
From the beginning of the Formulator Program (started in 1997), DfE has used the technical expertise of its workgroup of EPA scientists to compare ingredients in the same functional class and thereby identify those ingredients with the lowest hazard profile. The program is now developing DfE Screens for safer chemical ingredients in order to share this expertise and make it easier to formulate safer products. The solvents & surfactants were developed screens to identify safer chemical ingredients for cleaning products. Dfe is also developing screens for other functional ingredient classes.
DfE Screen for Solvents in Cleaning Products
With cleaning solvents, there are potential concerns for the following endpoints: carcinogenicity, acute mammalian toxicity, reproductive and developmental toxicity, repeated-dose toxicity, neurotoxicity, and environmental fate and toxicity. Phase I of the solvents screen should be applied only to alcohols, esters, ethylene glycol ethers, and propylene glycol ethers. DfE’s next step is to expand the solvents screen to additional solvent classes used in cleaning products, such as terpenes, amines, and amides; these will be known as Phase II solvent classes.
DfE is interested in gaining experience with Phase I of the solvents screen as it is applied by DfE and third-party reviewers for CleanGredients, and will use that experience to inform future iterations of the screen. The DfE Screen for Solvents (PDF) (16 pp, 130K, About PDF) is available here as a pdf document.
PHASE I SOLVENT CLASSES |
Alcohols |
ATTRIBUTES OF CONCERN FOR PHASE I SOLVENTS |
Carcinogenicity |
DfE Screen for Surfactants
Surfactants in cleaning products are distinguished by their rate of biodegradation and level of aquatic toxicity. The DfE Screen for Surfactants combines those two hazard characteristics, and requires that surfactants with a slower rate of biodegradation demonstrate lower aquatic toxicity. Surfactants that meet the screen are acceptable for use in a DfE-recognized cleaning product.
Acute Aquatic Toxicity |
Rate of Biodegradation |
≤1 ppm |
May be acceptable if biodegradation1 occurs within a 10-day window |
>1 ppm and ≤10 ppm |
Biodegradation1 occurs within a 10-day window |
| >10 ppm | Biodegradation1 occurs within 28 days without products of concern2 |
1. Generally, >60% mineralization (to CO2 and water) in 28 days.
2. Products of concern are compounds with high acute aquatic toxicity (L/E/IC50 ≤ 10ppm) and a slow rate of biodegradation (greater than 28 days).
Formulators who subscribe to the CleanGredients® database can find a list of surfactants that meet the DfE Screen. Suppliers, who also subscribe, can have their surfactants reviewed against the screen and listed in the database. Nearly 300 formulators are finding safer surfactants on CleanGredients®.