From Saxe, Hoffman & Labib, (2022). Green Chemistry. DOI: 10.1039/D2GC00842D licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0
combining ecological risk assessment and life cycle assessment approaches for green product design
A benefit of ecological risk assessment is that it is used to support regulatory decisions, and includes sophisticated approaches for translating empirical data into consistent decision-making. A benefit of life cycle assessment is that it accounts for a broad range of potential impacts to humans and the environment. Working with scientists from Avon, we combined aspects of both approaches to create a new method for measuring the sustainability of raw materials and finished products in cosmetics and personal care products. This method, implemented as a spreadsheet tool and relying on data and models in the public domain, is aimed at the early design stage before full life cycle assessment is possible. The work is described in an open access paper in the journal Green Chemistry (link).
Research to support improved environmental exposure assessment
Regulatory decisions on sunscreen use have been made on the basis of potential risk to coral, but published risk assessments for sunscreens' ultraviolet light filter (UVF) ingredients lack empirical data to establish their rinse-off rate from swimmers' skin into seawater. We worked with Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies and the Battelle Memorial Institute to design a study simulating rinse-off of UVFs in sunscreen from skin into seawater. The take-home message published in our open access paper, Development of a novel rinse-off method for improved sunscreen exposure assessment, is that no flat-rate value for rinse-off is possible, because there are substantial differences among UVFs (in this study: octocrylene, octisalate, homosalate, avobenzone, and oxybenzone), among products (lotion, stick, and spray), and between application rates (typical versus FDA-recommended). Other recent studies report that UVF exposure models result in higher predicted concentrations in seawater than seen in environmental monitoring, so we are hopeful this work will support improved exposure and risk assessment for coral and other forms of aquatic life.
From Saxe et al. J Cleaner Prod 180 (2018) 263-271 licensed under CC BY 4.0
Global Aquatic Ingredient Assessment (GAIA) database tool
We worked with Johnson & Johnson to design, implement, and maintain a system for their personal care product formulators to have easy access to environmental safety evaluations. These evaluations help the company make ingredient choices that result in lower environmental risks from wastewater after the product is used. The work is described in the April 2018 issue of the Journal of Cleaner Production, and is available free of charge (link). GAIA has also been presented in scientific forums including the 7th SETAC World Congress (presentation MP172 link) and is described in a US patent (link).
environmental claims on product labels
Regulatory guidance places qualitative limits on the way companies can use environmental claims when marketing their products. While there is general agreement that vague or misleading claims are not acceptable, many requirements vary by region, and can be tricky to navigate. Regulatory guidance lacks detailed criteria for substantiating environmental claims. Refer to "Biodegradability Evaluation for Cosmetic Ingredients and Finished Products" in Formulating, Packaging, and Marketing of Natural Cosmetic Products (link) which we prepared to help companies navigate some of the most frequently misunderstood issues around selecting appropriate language and testing methods for making biodegradability claims on their marketing materials. Relevant guidance documents addressing this issue include the US FTC Green Guides (link) and the EU Compliance Criteria on Environmental Claims (link).
Environmental Risk Assessment of Oxybenzone (Benzophenone-3) and Coral
We identified the worldwide reasonable worst case exposure scenario as the southeastern United States during summer and used available monitoring data from that region to determine the predicted exposure concentration (PEC).
We assessed the reliability of studies addressing toxicity to coral using Klimisch scores and adopted only Category 1 and 2 studies to develop a predicted no effect concentration (PNEC).
The resulting PEC:PNEC ratio was less than one, indicating risk to coral at current use levels was not expected.
The ERA was conducted in 2019 and was intended to assist decision‐makers in balancing uncertainties around risks to coral against the potential human health cost of oxybenzone restriction.
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Aquatic Ecological Assessment for Shampoos: Sensitivity of the USETox Model to Parameter Uncertainty
There are plans for environmentally friendly marketing claims in the European Union to require standardized product Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) as substantiation, relying in part on the USETox model.
USETox results for shampoo ingredients are sensitive to uncertainty around the effects factor - a measure of aquatic toxic potency - which can span orders of magnitude, compared to uncertainty around biodegradability and octanol‐water partition coefficient.
Clear guidance around selection and use of effects data, applied consistently across ingredients, is critical to achieving quality results in aquatic assessments for shampoos in USETox.
