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Press Release

Cleaning Products: Integral Risk Assessment Published in Chemosphere

The potential ecological risk associated with current uses of polycarboxylate polymers in cleaning products in the U.S. is low.

Integral Principal Paul DeLeo, Ph.D., and Senior Scientist Heather Summers recently coauthored a risk assessment on the environmental impacts of polycarboxylate polymers in cleaning products, which was published in the November issue of the peer-reviewed journal Chemosphere. The research found that key detergent polymers pose low risk to surface waters. Results were consistent with assessments by authoritative bodies around the world.

Aquatic risks were studied for polycarboxylate polymers, which are commonly found in laundry detergents and machine dishwashing detergents. The study, titled “Environmental risk assessment of polycarboxylate polymers used in cleaning products in the United States,” is part of a reassessment of the state of the science regarding the environmental safety of polymers in cleaning products.

Read Chemosphere Article.

In this study, the polymers are evaluated using historical ecotoxicity data that have been reported over the past three decades. The study also includes an environmental exposure assessment based on recent information regarding the occurrence of polycarboxylate polymers in cleaning products sold in the United States.

Results were consistent with assessments by authoritative bodies around the world, supporting the conclusion that current uses of polycarboxylate polymers in cleaning products do not pose a significant risk to the aquatic environment.

The research was conducted by the American Cleaning Institute, Integral Consulting Inc., and the Procter & Gamble Company.

For more information, contact Paul DeLeo at pdeleo@integral-corp.com.