A peer-reviewed study published in the journal Science of the Total Environment and authored by Josie B. Nusz, Anne Fairbrother, Jennifer Daley and G. Allen Burton finds D4 poses negligible risk to the environment. The study examined environmental monitoring data collected during a silicones industry program designed collaboratively with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The study concludes that D4 poses negligible risk to the environment, which the Silicones Environmental, Health and Safety Center (SEHSC) of the American Chemistry Council (ACC) believes is an indication that no regulatory restrictions are warranted.
“As a result of this study, SEHSC believes that U.S. policymakers now have conclusive evidence that D4 does not harm the environment. The findings are clear — D4 poses no unreasonable environmental risk,” says Karluss Thomas, senior director of SEHSC. “The results of this study are consistent with the determinations made in Canada and Australia — D4 does not pose risks that warrant product content restrictions.”
D4 is a critical building block used to produce a wide range of silicone polymers which provide unique product performance characteristics that engender innovation in thousands of products that benefit key segments of the global economy, including: transportation, building and construction, health care, alternative energy technologies, and electronics, according to ACC. In these sectors, there are reportedly few, if any, satisfactory substitutes to silicone polymers.
For more information, visit: sehsc.americanchemistry.com
