March 3rd, 2009

By John DeFore
Green Right Now

Ever wondered what’s in that stuff you use to scrub the sink — the stuff that gets rinsed out into the water supply every time you do your chores?

A lot of people do, evidently — even those who don’t know a polyacrylate from a hypochlorite — and the folks at Clorox appear to be listening. They’ve announced an initiative to make that information (most of it, anyway) available over the course of this year, beginning with the products they promote as Earth-friendly under the Green Works trademark.

In January, the company constructed a new subsection of its “Our Products” information area: Bearing the straightforward title “Product Ingredient Listings,” the page currently lists scores of products bearing such household and commercial brands as 409, Pine-Sol and Liquid-Plumr; that last product, incidentally, has five of its six ingredients in common with regular Clorox bleach (although they’re present in different amounts).

The lists only show chemicals that account for more than one percent of a product by weight, which theoretically allows for “secret ingredients.” And as it currently exists, the site naturally does nothing to help consumers make sense of the chemical names by indicating possible concerns associated with each.

Instead, the site blandly assures visitors that “before Clorox brings any product to market, all ingredients are assessed for factors such as toxicity, sensitization and efficacy to ensure their safety.”

However, customers concerned about what they’re pouring down the drain will be able to cross-index this info with information available elsewhere on the web about chemicals.

The U.S. Health and Human Services’ public Household Products Database, for instance, warns that Clorox’s liquid bleach requires special handling and recommends that uses wear rubber gloves and use eye goggles because the bleach is “CORROSIVE to the eyes ” and may cause “severe irritation or damage to eyes and skin.”

The database does not always address the environmental impact of such cleaning products, though one could presume that corrosive cleaners, unless they biodegrade quickly, can play havoc with fish and wildlife.

To get full details on any household protect, click through to the Materials Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) information on the Household Products Database. Here you’ll discover that while Clorox makes a phethora of products for household cleaning that contain sodium hypochlorite, or bleach; the Oakland-based company also makes cleaners with hydrogen peroxide and other more environmentally friendly ingredients.
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