OTTAWA, Ontario, Canada — The Government of Canada has decided that siloxane D5—the liquid silicone used in the GreenEarth drycleaning process—is not harmful to the environment, Canada Environment Minister Peter Kent announced.
Kent received the Siloxane D5 Board of Review’s report last fall. He convened his country’s Board of Review in August 2010 with the mandate to consider information in the original Government of Canada 2009 siloxane D5 screening assessment, as well as new scientific information subsequently available. The Board concluded that siloxane D5 is not harmful to the environment.
“This decision follows a thorough analysis of the Siloxane D5 Board of Review’s report, all existing available scientific information, and ongoing international regulatory activities,” says Kent. “It underlines our commitment to reach fact-based conclusions to protect Canadians’ health and the environment.”
Tim Maxwell, president of GreenEarth Cleaning, Kansas City, Mo., says his company has always applauded Canada’s measured, fact-based approach to the bioaccumulation issue.
“We have always welcomed regulatory reviews like the one now concluded in Canada because they offer scientific, thorough and independent perspective on the environmental, health and safety profile of GreenEarth silicone,” Maxwell says. “This builds nicely on CARB’s [California Air Resources Board] affirmation of GreenEarth as an acceptable solvent alternative in 2008 after its exhaustive 18-month study.”
GreenEarth has never required regulation of any kind in either the United States or Canada, Maxwell says.
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