Research Tool Gives the Heads Up on Down-the-Drain Chemicals

Newswise — Washington, D.C. – April 1, 2015 – A web-based tool developed by the American Cleaning Institute (ACI) can help product manufacturers, regulators and researchers more precisely forecast levels of down-the-drain chemicals in streams and rivers.

A study published in the journal Science of The Total Environment (Volumes 518–519, 15 June 2015, Pages 302–309) describes how use of ACI’s iSTREEM® model can lead to “a series of practical and powerful tools” for building realistic exposure models to predict chemical concentrations in U.S. waterways.

The research described how iSTREEM can be used to predict the environmental concentrations of down-the-drain chemicals such as pharmaceuticals and compounds used in formulated consumer products – like cosmetics and cleaning products – across a large geographic scale for a variety of chemical characteristics and stream flow scenarios.

The article was authored by scientists Katherine Kapo, Kathleen McDonough, Thomas Federle, Scott Dyer and Raghu Vamshi.

“By using data from many different waterways and discharge points, we are able to create an approach that allows us to better understand levels of chemical concentrations in rivers and streams across the U.S.,” said Dr. McDonough of Procter and Gamble. “Through use of the iSTREEM model, scientists can approximate and communicate exposure levels for thousands of chemicals in commerce.”

“This work represents a significant contribution to environmental exposure science,” said Dr. Paul DeLeo, ACI Associate Vice President, Environmental Safety.

An abstract of the article, “Mixing zone and drinking water intake dilution factor and wastewater generation distributions to enable probabilistic assessment of down-the-drain consumer product chemicals in the U.S.,” is available at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004896971500265X.

Manufacturers, researchers and regulators can find more information about the iSTREEM model at http://www.cleaninginstitute.org/istreem/.

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The American Cleaning Institute® (ACI) is the Home of the U.S. Cleaning Products Industry® and represents the $30 billion U.S. cleaning products market. ACI members include the formulators of soaps, detergents, and general cleaning products used in household, commercial, industrial and institutional settings; companies that supply ingredients and finished packaging for these products; and oleochemical producers. ACI (www.cleaninginstitute.org) and its members are dedicated to improving health and the quality of life through sustainable cleaning products and practices.