News Release

For Immediate Release
ACC Contact: Jennifer Killinger, (703) 741-5833
Jennifer_Killinger@americanchemistry.com

SDA Contact: Brian Sansoni, (202) 662-2517
bsansoni@cleaning101.com

SOCMA Contact: Daniel Cronin, (202) 721-4137
cronind@socma.com

Chemical and Consumer Product Makers Promise More
Public Information on Chemical Safety

ARLINGTON, VA (March 15, 2005) – The American Chemistry Council (ACC), in cooperation with The Soap and Detergent Association (SDA) and Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers Association (SOCMA), today announced a joint initiative to extend the industry’s work on high production volume (HPV) chemicals – those produced in the United States or imported in quantities greater than 1 million pounds annually. The Extended HPV Program, or EHPV Program, will publish health and environmental information on several hundred additional chemicals and increase the breadth of safety information made publicly available for all HPV substances.

Through the original HPV Challenge Program, begun in 1998, more than 400 manufacturing companies and consortia volunteered to collect safety information on approximately 2,200 HPV chemicals, representing more than 90 percent of U.S. chemical production by volume. Work on chemicals in the HPV Challenge is scheduled to be complete this year.

The EHPV Program broadens current work on HPV chemicals in two ways. First, companies are being asked to provide health and environmental information for roughly 500 “new” HPV chemicals. These are substances that did not qualify as HPV chemicals at the start of the original program but which now meet the volume threshold according to EPA’s 2002 Inventory.

Second, the EHPV Program increases the scope of information being collected for all HPV chemicals. In addition to gathering health and environmental information, companies will be asked to provide information on use and exposure for both the “Extended” HPV as well as the original “Challenge Program” substances. In this way, the EHPV Program will provide EPA and the public with an extensive source of chemical safety information on HPV chemicals.

“ The HPV Challenge has produced more information on more chemicals in less time than any government-mandated program,” said ACC President and CEO Thomas E. Reilly, Jr. “Our industry elected to expand our work on HPV chemicals because we believe it’s important for government, industry and consumers to make informed choices about products we make and use everyday.”

“SOCMA supports extending the HPV program because we see it as an opportunity to continue to communicate chemical safety to the public. Programs like this are an important step in building public confidence in the chemical industry and strengthening cooperation between our member companies and government agencies,” said SOCMA President Joseph Acker.

In launching the EHPV Program, ACC, SDA and SOCMA are asking their member companies and other producers to consider volunteering to work on specific chemicals, and to make their decisions public by December 31, 2005. Work on the EHPV Program will begin during one of four self-selected “start years” (from 2006 to 2009), with the full program to be complete and all information publicly available by 2010. All information collected through the HPV Challenge and EHPV Program will continue to be posted on EPA’s website.

“Some details on how the Program will be implemented are still being discussed, and we look forward to engaging with others as the program develops,” Reilly said. “It is important that we work with all impacted sectors and consider the broader regulatory context in order to maximize both efficiencies and benefits.”

The EHPV Program is designed to minimize the use of laboratory animals. Program sponsors are strongly encouraged to make maximum use of chemical categories, to conduct exhaustive data searches, and to utilize validated non-animal methods where accepted and appropriate. Moreover, the use and exposure component will allow sponsors to demonstrate how their data decisions incorporate risk-based approaches.

HPV Challenge Program Background

In 1998, the chemical industry – in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental Defense and others – developed the HPV Challenge Program as a voluntary initiative to compile and make publicly available, by 2005, complete health and environmental screening information on high production volume (HPV) chemicals.

The health and environmental information required for the HPV Challenge is identical to the internationally-agreed SIDS standards, which comprise a series of data sets, tests, testing protocols and information formats for conducting assessments of HPV chemicals.

According to a recent EPA status report, a total of 2,222 chemicals were sponsored through the original program, with 1,371 sponsored through EPA’s HPV Challenge and another 851 chemicals sponsored through its international counterpart, the International Council of Chemical Associations’ HPV Initiative.

According to EPA, as of July 2004, companies had compiled and provided to the agency information on 1,266 chemicals in the U.S. HPV Challenge Program, a figure that represents 92 percent of the commitments in that program. Chemical safety information and test plans already submitted for HPV chemicals are available on EPA’s website: http://www.epa.gov/chemrtk/viewsrch.htm.

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EHPV Q&A Fact Sheet: http://www.cleaning101.com/EHPV_Q&A.html

ACC: http://www.accnewsmedia.com; see ACC’s HPV Challenge Media Kit.

SDA: www.cleaning101.com

SOCMA: http://www.socma.org

The American Chemistry Council (ACC) represents the leading companies engaged in the business of chemistry. ACC members apply the science of chemistry to make innovative products and services that make people's lives better, healthier and safer. ACC is committed to improved environmental, health and safety performance through Responsible Care, common sense advocacy designed to address major public policy issues, and health and environmental research and product testing. The business of chemistry is a $501 billion enterprise and a key element of the nation's economy. It is the nation’s largest exporter, accounting for ten cents out of every dollar in U.S. exports. Chemistry companies invest more in research and development than any other business sector. Safety and security have always been primary concerns of ACC members, and they have intensified their efforts, working closely with government agencies to improve security and to defend against any threat to the nation’s critical infrastructure.

The Soap and Detergent Association (SDA) is the Home of the U.S. Cleaning Products and Oleochemical Industries SM , representing manufacturers of household, industrial, and institutional cleaning products; their ingredients and finished packaging; and oleochemical producers. SDA members produce more than 90 percent of the cleaning products marketed in the U.S.