FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Brian Sansoni, 202-662-2517 / 202-680-9327 or bsansoni@cleaning101.com

SDA: Detergent Industry Continues Successful Enzyme Product Stewardship Efforts

• Recent Research Questioning Workplace Safety Ignores Systems Already In Place
• The Practices Cited at One Facility Don't Reflect Global Industry Safety Practices
• SDA Offers Guidance on Enzyme Safety at SDAScience.org

WASHINGTON, D.C., November 23, 2009 – The detergent industry has developed successful product stewardship programs to promote the safe use of enzymes in the workplace, which is not accurately reflected in two studies that draw overly broad conclusions on enzyme safety from experiences at a single factory.

The Soap and Detergent Association (SDA – www.cleaning101.com) said that research recently published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine – alleging health impacts on workers from enzymes used in production at a single European detergent factory – should in no way lead to interpretations about industry safety practices at-large.

“Over the years, the detergent industry has developed successful product stewardship programs to promote the safe use of enzymes, using appropriate risk assessment and risk management strategies to avoid unacceptable risks in the workplace,” according to Richard Sedlak, SDA Senior Vice President of Technical and International Affairs.

“When these programs are properly implemented, we are unaware of any adverse health impacts being reported in the medical literature.”

SDA also noted limitations with the research published in Occupational and Environmental Medicine, including:

• Enzyme detergent manufacturers have known that exposure to enzyme-containing liquids can cause sensitization symptoms, which they account for in implementing their engineering and safety controls.
• There is no specific information on the engineering or workplace safety practices used in the plant cited in the study and no indication of whether changes have been made since problems were reported there several years ago.
• The researchers' conclusions about health concerns are based on a very limited study design, as symptoms cited were often self-reported, not medically diagnosed and the methods used by the researchers to estimate levels of enzyme exposure and relate them to symptoms are unreliable.

“The researchers' conclusions offer nothing new and do not accurately reflect the stewardship practices already in place across the U.S. and Europe,” added SDA's Sedlak. “When you implement and adhere to proper workplace safety procedures and practices, the likelihood of adverse impacts is greatly diminished.”

As an example of SDA's and the industry's efforts to promote proper product stewardship, the Association has published Risk Assessment Guidance for Enzyme-Containing Products (2005) and Work Practices for Handling Enzymes in the Detergent Industry (1995), both of which are available online at no cost at SDAScience.org.

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The Soap and Detergent Association (SDA – www.cleaning101.com), the Home of the U.S. Cleaning Products Industry®, represents the $30 billion U.S. cleaning products market. SDA 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. SDA and its members are dedicated to improving health and the quality of life through sustainable cleaning products and practices.