In her remarks at the Commonwealth Club, Administrator Jackson said:

“…as more and more chemicals are found in our bodies and the environment, the public is understandably anxious and confused. Many are turning to government for assurance that chemicals have been assessed using the best available science, and that unacceptable risks haven’t been ignored.

Our oversight of the 21st century chemical industry is based on the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act….over the years, not only has TSCA fallen behind the industry it’s supposed to regulate – it’s been proven an inadequate tool for providing the protection against chemical risks that the public rightfully expects.

Today I’m announcing clear Administration principles to guide Congress in writing a new chemical risk management law that will fix the weaknesses in TSCA.”

A copy of Administrator Jackson’s remarks as prepared for delivery can be found online at epa.gov/newsroom.

With the leadership of Senators Barbara Boxer and Frank Lautenberg and Representatives Henry Waxman and Bobby Rush, legislation strengthening TSCA is expected to be introduced shortly. The Obama Administration’s “Essential Principles for Reform of Chemicals Management Legislation” are intended to aid Congress during the legislative process. The principles, listed below, present the administration’s goals for legislation that will give EPA the mechanisms and authorities to expeditiously target chemicals of concern and promptly assess and regulate new and existing chemicals in commerce:

• Chemicals should be reviewed against risk-based safety standards based on sound science and protective of human health and the environment
• Manufacturers should provide EPA with the necessary information to conclude that new and existing chemicals are safe and do not endanger public health or the environment
• EPA should have clear authority to take risk management actions when chemicals do not meet the safety standard, with flexibility to take into account sensitive subpopulations, costs, social benefits, equity and other relevant considerations.
• Manufacturers and EPA should assess and act on priority chemicals, both existing and new, in a timely manner
• Green Chemistry should be encouraged and provisions assuring Transparency and Public Access to Information should be strengthened.
• EPA should be given a sustained source of funding for implementation

Although legislative reform is necessary for an effective chemicals management program, EPA is committed to strengthening the performance of the current program while Congress considers new legislation. This enhanced plan includes the development of chemical action plans which will outline the agency’s risk management efforts on those chemicals of greatest concern. EPA has identified an initial list of chemicals for possible risk management action and anticipates completing and posting an initial set of four action plans in December. It will complete and post additional chemical action plans in four-month intervals thereafter.

An additional focus will be accelerating efforts to gather the critical information from industry that the agency needs to make chemical risk determinations. This will include filling the current gaps in health and safety data on high production volume chemicals; enhanced, transparent, and more current reporting of use and exposure information; and a number of requirements for increased reporting on nanoscale chemical materials. In addition, EPA is reviewing how nanoscale materials are managed under TSCA. EPA is also reviewing ways to increase the public’s access to information about chemicals.

Prioritizing chemicals for future risk management action is the final component of this effort and EPA intends to formally engage stakeholders and the public in this discussion in the coming months.

The “Essential Principles for Reform of Chemicals Management Legislation” can be found at:
http://www.epa.gov/oppt/existingchemicals/pubs/principles.html.

Detailed information on EPA’s enhanced chemical management program, including information on specific components of this effort, an initial list of chemicals under consideration for Action Plan development, new hazard characterization for 100 chemicals, and risk management actions recently announced on lead and EPA’s plans for banning the use of mercury in certain products, can be found at: http://www.epa.gov/oppt/existingchemicals/index.html.

Separate research initiatives in the U.S. and Canada are turning potato starch into high performance bioplastic packaging and using corn germ to reduce the amount of resin in glue.

DSM, a Dutch chemical and materials company, plans to release a greener version of a chemical used in polymers, resins, food and pharmaceuticals later this year.

The company is working in a version of succinic acid that is derived from plant starch instead of oil or gas, according to the Financial Times. DSM accounts for 10-15 percent of global production of succinic acid.

The Environmental Protection Agency for the first time will require pesticide manufacturers to test 67 chemicals contained in their products to determine whether they disrupt the endocrine system, which regulates animals’ and humans’ growth, metabolism and reproduction, the agency said yesterday.

Chemicals in cleaning products remove the streaks from our windows and make our countertops sparkle. But are they safe?

A new lawsuit brought by Earthjustice, a non-profit public interest law firm based in Oakland, Calif., along with a coalition of public health and environmental advocates, aims to make it easier for consumers to answer that question by forcing manufacturers to adhere to a decades-old New York State regulation that it says requires disclosure of the ingredients in household cleaning products.

A new range of everyday and industrial chemicals used in carpets and textiles up to aviation devices and medical equipment may soon be controlled or eliminated under an international hazardous substances treaty.

Fluorocarbons–common chemicals in which carbon is bound to fluorine–are potent greenhouse gases, and some form toxic compounds that can accumulate in the environment. But neutralizing fluorocarbons has required a process whose high temperature drives up its cost, limiting its adoption. Researchers at Brandeis University report in Science today that they have found a catalyst that breaks the carbon-fluorine bond at room temperature, promising easier and more effective disposal of pesky pollutants.

EPA launched a new Web site at www.epa.gov/oppt/import-export/ that provides general information on requirements under the Toxic Substances Control Act for those who import and/or export chemical substances into and out of the United States. Various legal requirements under TSCA and associated implementing regulations can apply to a wide range of chemical substances and can impact importers and exporters.

In the finishing industry, “green” is a term used (or sometimes over-used) to describe the move toward more environmentally friendly and safe coating materials and processes. Increasingly strict federal, state and local environmental and worker safety regulations have required coating formulators to look at modifications to solvent-based coating formulations or find solutions using water-based technology.

According to Randy Funston, president of Excalibur Paint & Coatings Ltd. (Wichita Falls, TX), development of green coating materials has been the main project of the company’s R & D laboratory since its inception nearly a decade ago.

“We set out to develop a protective coating that would meet demands on two global fronts: the needs of the commercial industry and the green coating movement to address air quality and health and safety factors,” Funston says.

To do it, Excalibur assembled a team of three developmental chemists with a combined 120 years’ experience in the paint and coating industry. The result of their efforts is Aqua-Thane, a patent pending, 2K water-borne acrylic polyurethane technology with performance properties said to meet or exceed those of high-performance solvent-borne systems without the associated health and safety hazards.

Researchers are finding alternatives to conventional plasticizers that may alleviate health concerns.

Hundreds of tons of waste still languish on the grounds of a pesticide factory in India, the site of a notorious disaster.

According to the UK Times Online, companies that use or manufacture industrial chemicals could face billions in compliance costs after one of the most complex regulatory regimes ever established in Europe began operating recently.

The culmination of a decade-long attempt to overhaul the European Union’s chemical policy, the newly-created European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), based in Helsinki, has begun the task of scrutinising more than 30,000 chemicals in commercial use across the continent.

EPA is also proposing to require manufacturers of chlorine using mercury cell technology to take additional steps to prevent mercury emissions. EPA would require plants not already monitoring mercury emissions to do so. Also, a plant would be required to perform ‘work practices’ such as implementing an inspection program for equipment problems, leaking equipment, liquid mercury accumulations and spills.

EPA will accept comments for 60 days after the notice is published in the Federal Register.

For more information on this action: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpg/t3fs.html

Toxic Chemicals:  EPA’s New Assessment Process Will Increase Challenges EPA Faces in Evaluating and Regulating Chemicals, by John B. Stephenson, director, natural resources and environment, before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.  GAO-08-743T, April 29.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-743T
Highlights – http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08743thigh.pdf

A congressional committee is investigating ties between the chemical industry and expert review panels hired by the Environmental Protection Agency to help it determine safe levels for a variety of chemical compounds.

The European Commission has proposed to restrict the sale and use of paint strippers containing dichloromethane. Such paint removers, are used in industry and are also sold in “Do-It-Yourself” stores accessible to everybody. Dichloromethane vapour is toxic to the central nervous system and the Commission’s proposal follows concerns of some experts that a number of accidents and fatalities which have occurred in recent years in the EU have been linked to use of the substance. The Commission therefore proposes to ban the sale of such paint strippers to the general public and professional users. However, taking account of other expert opinion that this substance may be safely used by professionals if adequate precautions are taken, Member States may permit their purchase and use by licensed professionals who have received appropriate training. For industrial activities, their use will be permitted under strictly controlled conditions. The formal adoption by the European Parliament and the Council is expected by the end of the year.

Deborah Rice, an award-winning toxicologist, was removed from a group of experts researching a widely-used flame retardant after industry lobbyists complained that she was biased.

A new environmentally friendly technology created by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory may revolutionize the production of the world’s most commonly produced organic compound, ethylene.

The combination of silver or silver with isothiazoline gives a new and very effective preservative system. By using this combination, the amount of sensitizing isothiazoline can be significantly reduced and, if an excess of benzisothiazoline is used, the well-known photosensitivity of silver compounds is reduced. This combination is a highly effective and safe new preservative system for coatings.

Rohm and Haas’s Aquaset™ technology received a Top 10 Ranking in this year’s EEP 2007 award at the Pollutec Show in Paris. The award is presented by the European Environmental Press (EEP) group in association with EFAEP – the European Federation of Associations of Environmental Professionals – to companies who have demonstrated outstanding commitment to the environment by investing in, and developing innovative eco-sustainable technologies. Of the 72 initial entries submitted from across the whole European region, Rohm and Haas was placed within the Top 10.

Modern life depends on the petrochemical industry — most drugs, paints and plastics derive from oil. But current processes for making chemical products are not sustainable in terms of resources and environmental impact. Green chemistry aims to tackle this problem, and real progress is being made.

Hundreds of studies have shown that these compounds cause a host of problems in lab animals. They include cancers of the breast, brain and testicles; lowered sperm counts, early puberty, miscarriages and other defects of the reproductive system; diabetes; attention deficit disorder, asthma and autism – all of which have spiked in people in recent decades since many of these chemicals saturated the marketplace.

A Journal Sentinel investigation found that the government has failed to regulate these chemicals, despite repeated promises to do so. The regulatory effort has been marked by wasted time, wasted money and influence from chemical manufacturers.

The newspaper reviewed more than 250 scientific studies written over the past 20 years; examined thousands of pages of regulatory documents and industry correspondence; and interviewed more than 100 scientists, physicians, and industry and government officials.

The agency intends to use this approach to assess risks and identify and take needed action on 3000 HPV chemicals by 2012. This was one of the elements of the North American chemical cooperation commitment announced by the U.S., Canada and Mexico at the Security and Prosperity Partnership North American Leaders’ Summit in Canada in August. For additional information on this announcement, visit the HPV Challenge Program Web site at www.epa.gov/hpv.

EPA will continue to prepare and periodically post additional HPV chemical hazard characterizations as they are developed. The agency also intends to post risk characterizations on chemicals when they are developed and completed, beginning later this year.

Review the first set of hazard characterizations: http://iaspub.epa.gov/oppthpv/hpv_hc_characterization.get_report

Further information on EPA’s plans for reviewing HPV chemical data:  http://www.epa.gov/chemrtk/index.htm

Upcoming Courses

• Modern HPLC in Pharmaceutical Analysis – September 11 – October 23 (only 7 seats left!)
• Toxicology for Chemists – September 19 – October 24
• Essentials of Organic Chemistry – Sept 24-Oct 29 (only 5 seats left!)
• Effective Technical Writing – Sept 24-Oct 29
• Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy -Sept 17-21
• Infrared Spectral Interpretation, Intermediate – Oct 1-2 and Special Topics – Oct 11-12
• From Beaker to Barrel: Chemical Engineering for Chemists -Oct 12-26

Visit ACS at www.chemistry.org/elearning.

On Sept. 5, the U.S. House of Representatives approved H.R. 2850, the Green Chemistry Research and Development Act. The legislation, introduced by Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA), strengthens federal efforts to find safer alternatives to today’s chemical products.

As part of the regional agreement, the three countries’ top environmental officials agreed that their agencies would coordinate efforts to assess and take action on industrial chemicals. The United States, by 2012, will complete risk characterizations and take action, as needed, on more than 9,000 chemicals produced above 25,000 pounds per year. It also provides for the sharing of scientific information and technical understanding, best practices and research on new approaches to chemical testing and assessment. The agreement establishes goals to be met by 2020, which includes creating and updating chemical inventories in all three countries, as well as coordinating the management of chemicals in North America as outlined in other international agreements.

This U.S. commitment to complete assessments and take needed action on 9,000 chemicals will apply the results of EPA’s work on High Production Volume (HPV) chemicals and extend its efforts to moderate production volume chemicals. The 2012 goal is to ensure that these chemicals are produced and used in ways that minimize risks to health and the environment.

This agreement will build on Canada’s Chemical Management Program to categorize chemicals for review, assessment, and management and EPA’s HPV Challenge Program. The HPV program successfully challenged the U.S. chemical industry to provide the public with basic health and safety data on chemicals that are manufactured or used in quantities in excess of a million pounds a year. Later this month, EPA will release an initial set of reports evaluating the potential hazards of HPV chemicals.

EPA plans to use the Canadian results as a starting point for U.S. efforts to assess the hazards of moderate-volume chemicals, using available data and hazard estimation approaches to prepare initial scientific assessments.

Additional information on this effort can be found at: http://www.epa.gov/chemrtk/index.htm

Yielding to years of pressure from environmental groups, one of the nation’s largest mercury polluters will stop using the toxic metal and switch to cleaner technology.

But the 200 tons of mercury on hand at the ERCO Worldwide chlorine plant in northern Wisconsin could end up on the world market and drift back to contaminate lakes and rivers.

ERCO, a subsidiary of the Toronto-based Superior Plus Income Fund, announced last week that it will convert its chlor-alkali plant outside Port Edwards, Wis., to a mercury-free manufacturing process in 2009. Only four other plants in the United States still use the liquid metal to create chlorine.

What reduces overall CO2 output by 15%? What cuts volatile organic compounds (VOC) by around 10%? What takes 20% less time to use? What saves more than $7 USD per vehicle?

Hopefully the answer to all those questions might turn out to be Ford’s new paint. Currently out on test, adorning 200 E-Series U-Haul rental trucks, to see if it can stand up to heavy duty use, the paint is apparently a new technology. It’s a “high-solids (formulated with polymers), solvent-borne paint applied wet in three applications, with no prime coat.” And it can be applied in a smaller and cleaner paint shop compared with traditional painting facilities, with no need to ‘bake’ the paint.

The Dow Chemical Company, the world’s largest producer of polyethylene, and Crystalsev, one of Brazil’s largest ethanol players have announced plans for a world-scale facility to manufacture polyethylene from sugar cane.

Under the terms of a memorandum of understanding agreed by the two companies, Dow and Crystalsev will form a joint venture in Brazil to design and build the first integrated facility of its scale in the world. It is expected to start production in 2011 and will have a capacity of 350,000 metric tons. The venture will combine Dow’s leading position in polyethylene with Crystalsev’s know-how and experience in ethanol to meet the needs of Dow’s customers in Brazil and what will likely be international interest.

The consent decree, lodged in federal district court in Illinois, requires Equistar to invest in comprehensive control and operational measures expected to significantly reduce air, water and hazardous waste pollution from the seven manufacturing facilities. The states of Iowa, Illinois and Louisiana have all joined the federal government in today’s settlement.

“Equistar will be the first in the petrochemical industry to adopt these stricter environmental measures, many of which will go beyond what the regulations would require,” said Granta Nakayama, EPA’s assistant administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Through these investments in environmental compliance, Equistar has a chance to turn its performance record around, and ultimately become a leader in the industry by running a cleaner, less polluting facility.”

“Today’s settlement provides Equistar with the opportunity both to address past failures and to be pro-active in making company-wide changes to reduce the likelihood of future violations at these plants,” said Ronald J. Tenpas, acting assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “Equistar’s decision to work cooperatively with the Department of Justice, EPA, and the state plaintiffs benefits everyone – dollars that would otherwise be spent on litigation can now be used for environmental improvements.”

The plants which are subject to today’s settlement are Equistar’s facilities in Morris, Ill.; Clinton, Iowa; Lake Charles, La. (currently inactive); Channelview, Texas; Chocolate Bayou, Texas; Corpus Christi, Texas; and La Porte, Texas.

The case was initiated as a result of inspections conducted by the EPA’s National Enforcement Investigations Center (NEIC) at Equistar’s Channelview, Texas, and Morris, Ill., facilities. During the inspections, the EPA identified extensive Clean Air Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and Clean Water Act violations.

The inspectors also found that Equistar had violated laws requiring the company to immediately report spills and releases of hazardous substances to federal and state emergency response centers. Once Equistar was notified of the violations, the company agreed to address potential compliance issues at all seven of its petrochemical plants.

Equistar has already initiated action to correct the regulatory violations identified and will continue to implement enhancements to its air, water and hazardous waste programs to address widespread deficiencies. Under the first 18 months of the settlement, Equistar is required to conduct a number of separate environmental audits of its operations to identify any additional problems, report its findings and proposed corrective measures back to the EPA and state regulators, and fix the problems.

In addition, Equistar has agreed to monitor and fix leaks of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and hazardous air pollutants, such as benzene, from process units; to change out equipment that uses ozone-depleting substances; and to reduce flaring of VOCs. Equistar will also pay stipulated penalties under the consent decree for flaring based on the amount of pollution released to the atmosphere.

At its Channelview facility in Texas, Equistar will install a wastewater treatment system that will reduce harmful air emissions by at least 26 tons per year. In addition, the company will eliminate the improper land disposal of an estimated 150,000 tons of D018 benzene-contaminated hazardous waste per year.

In addition to the pollution controls, Equistar will pay a civil penalty of $2.5 million (to be divided among the federal government and participating states), and spend $6.56 million on federal and state supplemental environmental projects. The projects include a system to capture hazardous air emissions from process vents at the Channelview, Texas, facility, and state projects that include: (1) the purchase of emergency response equipment and newer, cleaner school buses; (2) funding for the Mississippi River Tourism Center; and (3) hazardous waste cleanup activities in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

According to the EPA, VOCs can contribute to respiratory disorders such as asthma and reduced lung capacity. They can also cause damage to ecosystems and reduce visibility.

The consent decree is subject to a 30-day comment period and final approval by the court.

• Read the consent decree on the Justice Department Web site
• More information on the Equistar Chemicals settlement
• Help EPA protect our nation’s land, air and water by reporting violations

Each year, thousands of tons of nylon end up in landfills. But small-scale experiments may offer big hope for efficient recycling of some types of the material.

Scientists from the University of Massachusetts Amherst have created a synthetic polymer — a building block of plastics — that wouldn’t need the flame-retardant chemicals that are added to many plastics before they can be used in bus seats, airplanes, textiles and countless household items. Some of these additives have been showing up in dust in homes and offices, fish, fat cells and breast milk, raising concern that they pose a risk to human health and the environment.

Led by UMass Amherst scientists Richard Farris, Bryan Coughlin and Todd Emrick, the research team presented an update on their work to industry representatives and scientists from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the U.S. Army on May 14. The team described the new polymer in the journal Macromolecules last year.

Specialty materials company Rohm and Haas Co. said it will devote half of its $300 million research and development budget in 2007 to environmentally advanced technologies, its largest percentage yet, according to the Associated Press.

Ashland Inc., a global chemical company, and Cargill have agreed in principle to create a new joint venture devoted solely to the development and production of bio-based chemicals. The parties intend for the new stand-alone entity to become a leading global supplier of chemicals from renewable sources.

The chemical industry is an essential contributor to the U.S. economy, with about $555 billion in annual revenues. There are approximately 13,500 chemical manufacturing facilities in the United States, owned by more than 9,000 companies. The sector is one of the nation’s largest exporters, accounting for 10 cents of every U.S. export dollar.

EPA’s Sector Strategies Program fosters collaboration among business, government, and non-government organizations. Through this program, EPA works with diverse parties to improve the environmental performance of major manufacturing and service sectors of the U.S. economy.

Currently, more than 20 national trade associations – representing 13 major sectors of the U.S. economy – participate in the Sector Strategies Program. The program’s sectors are agribusiness; cement manufacturing; chemical manufacturing; colleges and universities; construction; forest products; iron and steel manufacturing; metal casting; metal finishing; oil and gas, paint and coatings; ports; and shipbuilding and ship repair. These sectors represent more than one million sites throughout the country.

Chemical Manufacturing Sector Strategies Program http://www.epa.gov/sectors/chemical/index.html

Sector Strategies Program
http://www.epa.gov/sectors/program.html

The Bush administration’s new regulations for chemical facilities are meant to tighten security and prevent terrorist attacks. The industry applauds the proposals, but critics say the federal rules will block more effective state plans.

Delft University of Technology (Netherlands) PhD candidate Maaike Kroon has developed a sustainable and inexpensive production method for the chemical industry. This method combines reactions and separation processes, does not produce chemical waste and uses much less energy. After just two years of PhD research, she will receive her doctorate degree based on this research subject on December 11.

Researchers are working on a new synthetic rubber material tailored with liquid crystals that might be used to make body suits to protect chemical-industry employees from skin exposure to toxic vapors and aerosols, as well as providing protection for military personnel and civilians in the event of a chemical-weapons attack.

Anyone involved in shipping regulated materials across borders can go to a new web-based EPA-sponsored Compliance Assistance Center for help in complying with environmental laws. The border center’s new chemical import-export issues Web site provides information for importing and exporting a variety of chemicals, including toxic substances and hazardous waste. The site also has information on existing international agreements and regulations, and includes a news section to keep buyers, sellers, and transporters aware of the latest developments.

A single piece of legislation is set to replace the multitude of laws that currently govern the use of chemicals in Europe.

For information on the conference, see http://www.newmoa.org/hpv
For information on the HPV Challenge Program, see http://www.epa.gov/hpv

Draft
Agenda Overview
Characterizing Chemicals in Commerce: Using Data on High Production Volume (HPV) Chemicals
December 12-14, 2006

Plenary Speakers:

• Carl Edlund, Director, EPA Region 6 Multimedia Planning & Permitting Division
• David Schanbacher, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
• James Gulliford, Asssistant Administrator, EPA Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances (OPPTS) (invited)
• Charles Auer, Director, EPA Office of Pollution Prevention & Toxics (OPPT)
• Richard Deniison, Environmental Defense
• Steven Russell, American Chemistry Council
• Fatoumataa Ouane, United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Chemicals Program (invited)
• Ken Geiser, Lowelll Center for Sustainable Production

Keynote Address: “Understanding the OECD”
Robert Visser, Deputy-Director Environment Directorate of the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD)

General Sessions:

• What Is the EPA High Production Volume Challenge Program?
• Future Directions of the HPV Challenge Program
• What Have We Learned & What Are the Next Steps for Understanding & Using HPV Chemical Data?

Concurrent Sessions Topics (subject to change):

• Industry & Government Use of HPV Chemical Data
• Accessing & Connecting HPV Chemical Toxicity & Environmental Data: Results of Research Projects
• Training on Using the High Production Volume Information System
• How Can the Media Use HPVIS & Present the Available Data?
• Perspectives on Hazard, Exposure, and Risk Characterization
• Using HPVIS: Results of Research Projects
• States’ HPV Cheemical & Pollution Prevention Approaches & Perspectives
• HPV Chemicals Categorization & Screening
• Domestic Perspectives Dialogue on HPV Chemicals & Pollution Prevention Approaches
  HPV Chemical Screening Models
• Tools for Data Sharing & Prioritizing HPV Chemicals
• HPV Chemicals Initiative in North America
• Defining and Designing Green Products Using HPV Data
• Using HPV Other Data to Support Green Chemistry & Design for the Environment: Efforts of the Green Chemistry in Commerce Council
• HPV Challenge & Pollution Prevention Connection
• Using Data on HPV Chemical Releases & Transfers
• International Program Initiatives on HPV Chemicals

Biorefineries developed to produce ethanol from cellulose sources such as trees and fast-growing plants could get a tasty economic boost from the sale of “high-value” chemicals — such as vanillin flavoring — that could be generated from the same feedstock. Revenue from these “side stream” chemicals could help make ethanol produced by biorefineries cost competitive with traditional fossil fuels, researchers announced on Sept. 10.

At the 232nd national meeting of the American Chemical Society, a researcher from the Georgia Institute of Technology described green chemical processes that could produce chemicals worth up to $25 per pound from the same feedstock used to produce ethanol.

The European Union this week unveiled a proposed “action plan” that would boost sustainable chemistry, industrial biotechnology and chemical engineering research, development, and innovation in Europe.

The Product Stewardship Institute (PSI) and Green Seal Inc. announced on Aug. 9 the completion of a national Green Seal environmental standard for recycled-content latex paint. According to the groups, the standard is aimed at assuring consumers that recycled paint, in addition to being environmentally beneficial, can perform as well as virgin paint, both in terms of ease of application and quality and longevity of finish. The standard will be available at http://www.greenseal.org/certification/environmental.cfm and http://www.productstewardship.us/displayPage.php?pageid=75.

Production of these persistent compounds has doubled since the 1990s, and scientists are concerned about sublethal effects.

In a study of five hazardous chemicals, researchers said they identified at least one alternative that was commercially available, was likely to meet the technical requirements of some users, and was likely to have reduced environmental and occupational health and safety impacts.

The state of Massachusetts commissioned the study to carefully consider whether less toxic alternatives were available for lead, formaldehyde, perchloroethylene, hexavalent chromium, and di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP).

The Toxics Use Reduction Institute (TURI) at the University of Massachusetts Lowell conducted an alternatives assessment comparing the five chemicals with approximately 100 alternatives within 16 applications. For example, formaldehyde, a known cause of cancer in humans and used by beauty and barber shops as a sanitizer, was compared to two alternatives — ultraviolet light cabinets and storing implements in a dry, disinfected covered container without formaldehyde.

Read the executive summary and download the full TURI study (409 p.) at http://www.turi.org/content/content/view/full/2739/.

The chemical industry is facing some tough challenges in Europe. European legislation is about to tighten the way chemicals are regulated and make chemical companies responsible for proving the environmental safety of the chemicals they produce. Even before legislation provided a specific impetus for cleaning up their act, chemistry companies and researchers were becoming aware of the need to replace common products, production methods, and feedstocks with substitutes that have less impact on the environment. Sustainable products and processes are being developed that should eventually replace the old ones. An army of “green chemists” is coming on stream that aims to continue the trend. “We need green chemists in at the start, designing processes from first principles,” says Jeff Hardy of the United Kingdom’s Royal Society of Chemistry.

ARLINGTON, Va., June 13, 2006 – The American Chemistry Council has recognized Milliken Chemical, NOVA Chemicals, and Rohm and Haas for outstanding leadership under the chemistry industry’s environmental, health, safety, and security performance initiative.