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Use of GreenScreen® in Alternatives Assessment

A number of frameworks, toolboxes and references include GreenScreen as a chemical hazard assessment method which can be used to support alternatives assessment work.

 

BizNGO

Clean Production Action’s BizNGO – a collaboration of leaders from businesses, environmental groups, universities, and governments – initiated a demonstration project to a draft priority product under the California Safer Consumer Products (SCP) Regulations: paint and varnish strippers with methylene chloride. Using GreenScreen, the goals of this demonstration project were three-fold: (1) to identify whether less hazardous alternatives to methylene chloride in formulated paint stripper products are available on the market; (2) to identify candidate alternatives for methylene chloride in paint stripping formulations that will likely be considered in actual/future Stage 1 submissions for this “priority product” in California; and (3) to identify challenges and needs confronting compliance with the alternatives analysis process under the California SCP regulations. The analysis found safer chemical alternatives to methylene chloride and uncovered a number of lessons learned in terms of alternatives assessment in support of California’s SCP regulations. Learn more about BizNGO here.

 

Interstate Chemicals Clearinghouse

The Interstate Chemicals Clearinghouse (IC2) is an association of state, local, and tribal governments that promotes a clean environment, healthy communities, and a vital economy through the development and use of safer chemicals and products. In 2014, the Interstate Chemicals Clearinghouse prominently featured GreenScreen for Safer Chemicals in the Alternatives Assessment Guide they published. The IC2 Alternatives Assessment Guide was updated in January 2017. Learn more about IC2.

 

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has included GreenScreen in its Substitution and Alternatives Assessment Toolbox. The OECD toolbox is a compilation of resources relevant to chemical substitution and alternatives assessment and also includes alternatives assessment frameworks, case studies and regulations. GreenScreen for Safer Chemicals and GreenScreen List Translator are included in the OECD Alternatives Assessment Tool Selector and is featured in some of the Case Studies.  Learn more about the OECD toolbox here.

 

National Academy of Sciences

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. In 2014, GreenScreen for Safer Chemicals was referenced in the National Academy of Sciences’ A Framework to Guide Selection of Chemical Alternatives published by the National Research Council, Division on Earth and Life StudiesBoard on Chemical Sciences and TechnologyBoard on Environmental Studies and Toxicology, Committee on the Design and Evaluation of Safer Chemical Substitutions.

 

Royal Society of Chemistry

The Royal Society of Chemistry is the world’s leading chemistry community with a mission to advance excellence in the chemical sciences. In 2013, The Royal Society of Chemistry published the textbook Chemical Alternatives Assessments, the first textbook on the topic.  GreenScreen for Safer Chemicals is featured in five of the eleven chapters of the book. Click here to learn more about the book.

 

Substitution Support Portal

The Substitution Support Portal (SUBSPORT) is a free, multilingual platform for information exchange on alternative substances and technologies, as well as tools and guidance for substance evaluation and substitution management. SUBSPORT includes GreenScreen for Safer Chemicals in its list of substitution tools. SUBSPORT includes legal information on substitution, a database of restricted and priority substances, a compilation of prevalent criteria for the identification of hazardous substances, a description of existing substitution tools, a database comprising case stories, and substitution training programs.

 

Toxics Use Reduction Institute

The Toxics Use Reduction Institute (TURI) at the University of Massachusetts Lowell collaborates with businesses, community organizations and government agencies to reduce the use of toxic chemicals, protect public health and the environment, and increase competitiveness of Massachusetts businesses. As part of its work, TURI collaborates with academic partners, other US state and federal agencies, and international organizations to develop and refine alternatives assessment methods. TURI has included GreenScreen as part of its training and discussion around the alternatives assessment process.