Owner | Sunshine Makers, Inc. |
---|---|
Introduced | 1979 |
Markets | All-purpose cleaners |
Website | www.simplegreen.com |
Simple Green is an American brand of cleaning products produced by Sunshine Makers, Inc. [1] Their best known product is Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner, which totaled sales of at least US$5.7 million in 2004. [2]
It is advertised as an environmentally friendly, non-toxic, and biodegradable cleaner. It received critical attention from environmental safety activists [2] [3] because of the toxicity concerns of 2-butoxyethanol (EGBE), which was in the formula at under 4%. [4] As of 2013 2-butoxyethanol has been removed from Simple Green all-purpose cleaner, and has an NFPA/HMIS rating of 0/minimal for Health, Fire, Reactivity, and Special. [5] Its main competitors are Lysol and Clorox.
Simple Green has been re-listed as an approved Surface Washing Agent per the EPA's National Contingency Plan after being de-listed in 1995. The new 2013 re-formulation, SW-65 was re-listed with the EPA on 7/09/2013 [6] [7] EPA toxicity testing reports that Menidia beryllina and Mysidopsis bahia survive slightly better in a water solution of 1:10 mixture of Simple Green with crude oil#2 (LC50 = 8.30 ppm for 96 h and 4.40 ppm for 48 h) than in a water solution of crude oil #2 (LC50 = 6.50 ppm for 96 h and 3.70 ppm for 48 h). [7]
In 2001, Crystal Simple Green was used to clean up an oil spill in the Baltic Sea. In 2005, laboratory testing on rainbow trout indicated that Crystal Simple Green by itself did not affect the survival of rainbow trout adults or fry. Crude oil #2 did not affect adults but did increase the mortality rate of fry to 36%. Crystal Simple Green combined with crude oil #2 did not affect adults but did increase the mortality rate of fry to 46%. [8]
Simple Green has also been used for soil remediation projects. [9] [10]
Simple Green list the ingredients of their all-purpose cleaner as
Ingredient | CAS Registry Number |
---|---|
Water | 7732-18-5 |
C9-11 (?) alcohols ethoxylated | 68439-46-3 |
Sodium citrate | 68-04-2 |
Tetrasodium glutamate diacetate (also listed as Tetrasodium N,N-bis(carboxymethyl)-L-glutamate) | 51981-21-6 |
Sodium carbonate | 497-19-8 |
Citric acid | 77-92-9 |
Fragrance | N/A |
Liquitint colorant | N/A |
Preservative | 55965-84-9 |
The manufacturer's Ingredient Disclosure list for Simple Green® All-Purpose Cleaner includes methylchloroisothiazolinone and methylisothiazolinone. [11]
The United States federal Superfund law, officially the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), established the federal Superfund program, administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The program is designed to investigate and clean up sites contaminated with hazardous substances. Sites managed under this program are referred to as "Superfund" sites. There are 40,000 federal Superfund sites across the country, and approximately 1,300 of those sites have been listed on the National Priorities List (NPL). Sites on the NPL are considered the most highly contaminated and undergo longer-term remedial investigation and remedial action (cleanups).
Environmental remediation deals with the removal of pollution or contaminants from environmental media such as soil, groundwater, sediment, or surface water. Remedial action is generally subject to an array of regulatory requirements, and may also be based on assessments of human health and ecological risks where no legislative standards exist, or where standards are advisory.
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Dicofol is an organochlorine pesticide that is chemically related to DDT. Dicofol is a miticide that is very effective against spider mite.
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Fipronil is a broad-spectrum insecticide that belongs to the phenylpyrazole chemical family. Fipronil disrupts the insect central nervous system by blocking the ligand-gated ion channel of the GABAA receptor and glutamate-gated chloride (GluCl) channels. This causes hyperexcitation of contaminated insects' nerves and muscles. Fipronil's specificity towards insects is believed to be due to its greater binding affinity to the GABAA receptors of insects, than to those of mammals, and to its action on GluCl channels, which do not exist in mammals. As of 2017, there did not appear to be significant resistance among fleas to fipronil.
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Lysol is a brand of American cleaning and disinfecting products distributed by Reckitt, which markets the similar Dettol or Sagrotan in other markets. The line includes liquid solutions for hard and soft surfaces, air treatment, and hand washing. The active ingredient in many Lysol products is benzalkonium chloride, but the active ingredient in the Lysol "Power and Free" line is hydrogen peroxide. Lysol has been used since its invention in the late 19th century as a household and industrial cleaning agent, and previously as a medical disinfectant.
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Ecotoxicity, the subject of study of the field of ecotoxicology, refers to the potential for biological, chemical or physical stressors to affect ecosystems. Such stressors might occur in the natural environment at densities, concentrations or levels high enough to disrupt the natural biochemistry, physiology, behaviour and interactions of the living organisms that comprise the ecosystem.
Green nanotechnology refers to the use of nanotechnology to enhance the environmental sustainability of processes producing negative externalities. It also refers to the use of the products of nanotechnology to enhance sustainability. It includes making green nano-products and using nano-products in support of sustainability.
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Dispersit SPC 1000 or Dispersit is a dispersant used for oil spills, produced by U.S. Polychemical Corporation.
Environmental impacts of cleaning products entail the consequences that come as a result of chemical compounds in cleaning products. These cleaning products can contain chemicals that have detrimental impacts on the environment or to people.
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Women's Voices for the Earth (WVE) is a feminist, women-led, North American environmental organization that specializes in research and advocacy regarding toxic chemicals used in products that disproportionately impact women's health, including cosmetics, menstrual care products, professional salon and cleaning products. WVE is a non-profit organization whose mission is to amplify women's voices to eliminate toxics that harm communities and health. With its inclusive vision of environmental work WVE has become a hub for visionary feminist environmentalism that recognizes the systemic connections between health, class, race, and the environment. Addressing the inter-connectivity of these various channels of exposure to toxic chemicals has been key to WVE's approach which is multi-scalar: targeting consumer behaviors, corporate practices, and government policies.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA's) Safer Choice label, previously known as the Design for the Environment (DfE) label, helps consumers and commercial buyers identify and select products with safer chemical ingredients, without sacrificing quality or performance. When a product has the Safer Choice label, it means that every intentionally-added ingredient in the product has been evaluated by EPA scientists. Only the safest possible functional ingredients are allowed in products with the Safer Choice label.
The GreenScreen for Safer Chemicals is a transparent, open standard for assessing chemical hazard that supports alternatives assessment for toxics use reduction through identifying chemicals of concern and safer alternatives. It is used by researchers, product formulators and certifiers in a variety of industries, including building products, textiles, apparel, and consumer products.