The Environmental Protection Agency in the US has recently rejected a petition requesting increased testing and a change to the safety status of key chemistry used to make concentrated detergent unit-dose packets and sheets. The call was made by a cleaning products manufacturer and some non-governmental organizations and asked for more human and environmental health testing under the Toxic Substances Control Act for the polyvinyl alcohol – known as PVA or PVOH – used in laundry and dishwasher detergent packets and sheets. They also demanded to remove the “green” designation PVA currently has from the agency’s Safer Chemical List- denoting its safe use in detergent products.
The American Cleaning Institute (ACI) applauded the decision. Kathleen Stanton – ACI’s associate vice president of technical and international affairs – stated that in denying the petition, the EPA’s response provides a convincing analysis of the scientific facts showing that the use of PVA can be considered safe and sustainable.
