ChemFORWARD’s Free Portfolio Offers Users Trial of Safer Solvents
ChemFORWARD’s Free Portfolio Offers Users Trial of Safer Solvents
ChemFORWARD has published a free demonstration portfolio to allow product designers, manufacturers and chemical formulators to explore our approach to presenting chemical hazard information. Anyone can log in to test-drive ChemFORWARD’s unique tool for understanding safer alternatives at a glance as well as in rich detail.
The portfolio contains chemical hazard assessments for five solvents used in cleaning products which have been evaluated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The substances are included among 20 that the EPA has designated as low-priority chemicals under the amended Toxic Substances Control Act. ChemFORWARD has compiled data collected from the agency’s evaluations into its robust and user-friendly platform, presenting the results of the assessments through views corresponding to the two most widely used chemical ratings systems, the United Nations’ Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling of Substances and the Cradle to Cradle’s Material Health Assessment Methodology.
Like all ChemFORWARD portfolios, this collection is dynamic, allowing new alternatives to be added as they are analyzed and verified.
Key features to explore in the portfolio include:
Overview of all chemicals in the portfolio by name, Chemical Abstracts Service number, chemical class and overall chemical rating
Sort from low concern to higher concern based on the overall chemical rating. This highlights that while these are all safer alternatives, some are better than others.
Select a chemical to view the full hazard table with 16 - 20 human and environmental endpoints through the lens of the Globally Harmonized system of Classification andLabeling or the Cradle to Cradle Material Health Methodology. Both views break out hazard classifications by oral, dermal and inhalation routes of exposure.
View hazards based on the GHS rating system with relevant H-statements or view using the Cradle to Cradle chemical hazard methodology which includes persistence, bioaccumulation and endocrine activity endpoints — over and above the GHS view.
Explore rationales for each endpoint rating in the GHS view by hovering over the endpoint
Note confidence rating indicated by (parentheses and Italics) for low confidence and BOLD for high confidence.
The ability to easily visualize results using the summary hazard tables allows for quick comprehension of the hazard profile of the chemical; both what is known and not known. ChemFORWARD’s goal is to aid informed decision making to avoid regrettable substitutions, guiding users toward safer chemistry.
ChemFORWARD is regularly adding new portfolios for subscribers to its platform. While this free solvent portfolio presents data collected from EPA reports, all other portfolios contain chemical hazard assessments performed by independent assessors who meet and maintain our qualification requirements and were verified by independent expert toxicologists. In addition to authoritative governmental data sources including EPA and the European Chemicals Agency, assessors use the international toxicological literature and New Approach Methods including tools such as QSAR as needed to fill data gaps.
