October 2003

CLER AND ECOSOL TAKE PART IN WORLD DETERGENTS CONFERENCE

Groups Presented Update On LAB and LAS Data Assessments; Exhibit Featured

WASHINGTON, D.C. – An update on 10 years of collaborative research on the health and environmental safety of the world’s leading detergent surfactant – linear alkylbenzene sulfonate – was presented at the American Oil Chemists’ Society’s 5th World Conference on Detergents in Montreux, Switzerland, October 13-17.

The poster presentation, sponsored jointly by the Council for LAB/LAS Environmental Research (CLER) and the European Council on Studies on LAB and LAS (ECOSOL), summarized the progress in compiling comprehensive data assessments for the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA) and the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD).

In addition to LAB (for which in-depth assessments have been completed for OECD and the European Union), the poster reported that comprehensive assessments are in progress on LAS intermediates and co-products such as alkylate bottoms and sulfonic acids, as well as LAS.

“This has been an enormous collaborative undertaking by scientists and experts from many companies,” said CLER chairman Tom Grumbles. “The results to date have been positive – they increasingly affirm that our products are safe and environmentally sustainable from the beginning of the production chain to the end user.”

ECOSOL chairman Mike Biesheuvel said the years-long research program demonstrates the commitment of the industry to its customers and to the health and safety of the public. “These comprehensive data sets, which will be available to the public, reaffirm that commitment.”

Copies of the presentation will be published in the conference proceedings.

CLER and ECOSOL also hosted a joint exhibit during the Montreux conference, where attendees can met with company representatives and scientists. Copies of the poster presentation were made available, as well as the latest issue of the technical journal The CLER Review, past issues of the Review on CD-ROM, and live demonstrations of the CLER and ECOSOL web sites.

CLER member companies include Huntsman Corporation, Petresa, Quimica Venoco, REPSOL-YPF and SASOL North America. ECOSOL member companies include Chemische Fabrik WIBARCO GmbH (BASF), SASOL Italy and Petresa. More information about the two organizations can be found at their web sites: www.cler.com and www.ecosol.org.