W1 AM Nuts and Bolts of Logistics and Data Management for Data-Intensive Programs
Wednesday, 16 November 2005: 8:00 AM - 11:40 AM in Ballroom 1

(HEI-1117-810816) Lessons Learned from High Production Volume (HPV) Assessments of the Linear Alkylbenzene Sulfonate (LAS) Product Chain.

Heinze, John¹, Kent, David², ¹ Council for LAB/LAS Environmental Research (CLER), Washington, D.C., USA² Compliance Services International, Arlington, VA, USA

ABSTRACT- The international surfactants and detergents industry has focused increased effort in recent years on providing scientific information to regulatory authorities and the public on the human and environmental safety of its products. For LAS, a widely used surfactant in laundry detergents and cleaning products worldwide, the entire product chain including intermediates, co-products and LAS have been voluntarily sponsored in data intensive assessment programs. The presentation will focus on the practical lessons learned from these activities, focusing on: 1) The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Screening Information Data Set (SIDS) program - linear alkylbenzene (LAB) ′low priority for further work,′ 1995 (pre US HPV program); LAB alkylate bottoms (assessment plan in review), and LAS ′low priority for further work,′ 2005; and 2) The US Environmental Protection Agency HPV assessment program (LAB sulfonic acids, submission completed, 2004. The presentation will provide practical guidance based on successful examples on 1) how to organize and manage industry consortia, including importance of the initiating organization, goals and strategy, membership, data protection, cost sharing and timelines for completion, and 2) substantiation of chemical categories including knowledge of process chemistry, data quality requirements for robust summaries, gap filling, use and exposure information, and assessment conclusions.

Key words: linear alkylbenzene sulfonate, linear alkylbenzene, surfactants, alkylate bottoms