FOR IMMEDIATE Release
Contact: Brian Sansoni, 202-662-2517 or bsansoni@cleaning101.com

WASHINGTON, D.C., January 22, 2003—Some of the most widely used surfactants in household and personal care products are safely treated by on-site wastewater treatment systems, according to research recently published by The Soap and Detergent Association (SDA).

More than 25 million U.S. households not served by municipal sewage treatment plants use onsite wastewater treatment, typically septic tank systems. The work done by SDA's Septic Systems Task Force assessed the concentrations of major cleaning product ingredients in groundwater after treatment in septic systems.

The research is featured in the December 2002 issue of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (Vol. 21, No. 12), the journal of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.

Among the study's major findings (presented in three papers to the journal):

• Commonly used surfactants linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS), alcohol ethoxylate (AE), and alcohol ether sulfate (AES) are readily removed via biodegradation in septic system or sorption onto soils, even under worst-case conditions (where the septic system's drainage field is situated in groundwater most of the year).

• Laboratory tests confirm the ability of soils receiving septic tank discharges to biodegrade and sorb surfactants. Further, tests on soils not previously exposed to these compounds showed that even they could quickly biodegrade and sorb these materials, indicating that soils possess the ability to acclimate quickly to septic system discharges.

• Data gathered through the research validated a mathematical model previously developed by SDA, which serves as a screening level tool for assessing the fate and transport of household chemicals in septic systems.

In reviewing the results, SDA noted that "the research confirms that onsite wastewater treatment systems - even in worst case situations - provide ample treatment for cleaning product ingredients, showcasing again the environmental safety of cleaning products. In addition, the validation of the Septic Tank Treatment System (SepTTS) mathematical model provides a cost effective screening level method for determining the environmental performance of cleaning product ingredients."

The SepTTS computer program and user manual are available on SDA's website at www.cleaning101.com/environment/. Abstracts of the SDA studies can be found on the Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry website, at http://etc.allenpress.com/entconline/?request=get-toc&issn=0730-7268&volume=021&issue=12.

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The Soap and Detergent Association (www.cleaning101.com) is the non-profit trade association representing over 100 manufacturers of household, industrial and institutional cleaning products; their ingredients; and finished packaging. SDA members produce more than 90% of the cleaning products marketed in the U.S. SDA is located at 1500 K Street, NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20005.