The GreenScreen for Safer Chemicals is a transparent,
open standard
An open standard is a standard that is openly accessible and usable by anyone. It is also a prerequisite to use open license, non-discrimination and extensibility. Typically, anybody can participate in the development. There is no single definition ...
for assessing
chemical hazard
A chemical hazard is a (non-biological) substance that has the potential to cause harm to life or health. Chemicals are widely used in the home and in many other places. Exposure to chemicals can cause acute or long-term detrimental health eff ...
that supports
alternatives assessment Alternatives assessment or alternatives analysis is a problem-solving approach used in environmental design, technology, and policy. It aims to minimize environmental harm by comparing multiple potential solutions in the context of a specific proble ...
for
toxics use reduction
Toxics use reduction is an approach to pollution prevention that targets and measures reductions in the upfront use of toxic materials. Toxics use reduction emphasizes the more preventive aspects of source reduction but, due to its emphasis on toxi ...
through identifying chemicals of concern and safer alternatives. It is used by researchers, product formulators and certifiers in a variety of industries, including building products, textiles, apparel, and consumer products.
The GreenScreen prioritizes the avoidance of substances with a high hazard as a
carcinogen
A carcinogen is any substance, radionuclide, or radiation that promotes carcinogenesis (the formation of cancer). This may be due to the ability to damage the genome or to the disruption of cellular metabolic processes. Several radioactive substan ...
,
mutagen
In genetics, a mutagen is a physical or chemical agent that permanently changes nucleic acid, genetic material, usually DNA, in an organism and thus increases the frequency of mutations above the natural background level. As many mutations can ca ...
,
reproductive toxicant or
developmental toxicant or
endocrine disruptor
Endocrine disruptors, sometimes also referred to as hormonally active agents, endocrine disrupting chemicals, or endocrine disrupting compounds are chemicals that can interfere with endocrine (or hormonal) systems. These disruptions can cause c ...
or that are a
persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic substance (PBT).
Types of analysis
The GreenScreen protocol is published in a Guidance document that is reviewed and updated regularly. The description here is based upon the Hazard Assessment Guidance Version 1.4
An assessment using the GreenScreen has two major outputs:
* Hazard levels for endpoints: It characterizes the hazard level of substances from very low to very high across twenty human and environmental health endpoints addressing:
**
Human health
Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...
- such as cancer and reproductive toxicity
**
Environmental protection
Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment by individuals, organizations and governments. Its objectives are to conserve natural resources and the existing natural environment and, where possible, to repair dam ...
- primarily
aquatic toxicity
**
Physical hazards -
flammability
A combustible material is something that can burn (i.e., ''combust'') in air. A combustible material is flammable if it ignites easily at ambient temperatures. In other words, a combustible material ignites with some effort and a flammable mat ...
and
reactivity
** Environmental fate -
persistence and
bioaccumulation
Bioaccumulation is the gradual accumulation of substances, such as pesticides or other chemicals, in an organism. Bioaccumulation occurs when an organism absorbs a substance at a rate faster than that at which the substance is lost or eliminated ...
* Benchmarks: It rates substances from highest concern (Benchmark 1) to lowest concern (Benchmark 4)
The GreenScreen process has two levels of analysis:
*
GreenScreen List Translator - a screening method for quickly identifying known high hazard substances using hazard listings from governmental and professional scientific bodies. The screening is available through free online automated tools.
* GreenScreen Assessments - a full toxicological review to fill hazard data gaps and identify safer substances using scientific literature and modeling tools. This assessment is typically done by a trained practitioner.
A full GreenScreen Assessment provides a more complete hazard profile of a substance than a List Translator screening. It involves a detailed review of the scientific literature to attempt to determine hazard levels for all endpoints and calculate a GreenScreen benchmark. It may also use models and studies of analogs where direct data are scarce. Each endpoint hazard level is also assigned a confidence level based on the quality of the data.
Benchmark scores
The GreenScreen List Translator only can flag chemicals known to be of highest concern. A full GreenScreen Assessment can benchmark chemicals as being of lower concern. The Benchmark scale is:
* BM-1 - Benchmark 1: Avoid - Chemical of High Concern
* BM-2 - Benchmark 2: Use but Search for Safer Substitutes
* BM-3 - Benchmark 3: Use but Still Opportunity for Improvement
* BM-4 - Benchmark 4: Prefer - Safer Chemical
* BM-U - Benchmark U: Unspecified Due to Insufficient Data
The assessment requires data for most endpoints in order to give a substance a benchmark of lower concern than BM-1
Benchmark 1 is reserved for substances with a high hazard of any of the following:
*
Carcinogenicity
A carcinogen is any substance, radionuclide, or radiation that promotes carcinogenesis (the formation of cancer). This may be due to the ability to damage the genome or to the disruption of cellular metabolic processes. Several radioactive sub ...
(Cancer)
*
Mutagenicity
In genetics, a mutagen is a physical or chemical agent that permanently changes genetic material, usually DNA, in an organism and thus increases the frequency of mutations above the natural background level. As many mutations can cause cancer in ...
*
Reproductive toxicity
Reproductive toxicity refers to the potential risk from a given chemical, physical or biologic agent to adversely affect both male and female fertility as well as offspring development. Reproductive toxicants may adversely affect sexual function ...
*
Developmental toxicity
Development of the human body is the process of growth to maturity. The process begins with fertilization, where an egg released from the ovary of a female is penetrated by a sperm cell from a male. The resulting zygote develops through m ...
*
Endocrine disruption
Endocrine disruptors, sometimes also referred to as hormonally active agents, endocrine disrupting chemicals, or endocrine disrupting compounds are chemicals that can interfere with endocrine (or hormonal) systems. These disruptions can cause c ...
or that are
*
Persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic substances
Persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic substances (PBTs) are a class of compounds that have high resistance to degradation from abiotic and biotic factors, high mobility in the environment and high toxicity. Because of these factors PBTs have been ...
(PBT), very persistent toxicants (vPT), very bioaccumulative toxicants (vBT) or very persistent, very bioaccumulative substances (vPvB)
High hazards for other human health endpoints, such as
neurotoxicity
Neurotoxicity is a form of toxicity in which a biological, chemical, or physical agent produces an adverse effect on the structure or function of the central and/or peripheral nervous system. It occurs when exposure to a substance – specificall ...
and
respiratory sensitization, receive a Benchmark 2
This parallels the prioritization schemes underlying various international governmental regulatory programs such as the
Substance of very high concern
A substance of very high concern (SVHC) is a chemical substance (or part of a group of chemical substances) concerning which it has been proposed that use within the European Union be subject to authorisation under the REACH Regulation. Indeed, l ...
definition within the
REACH Regulation
Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) is a European Union regulation dating from 18 December 2006. REACH addresses the production and use of chemical substances, and their potential impacts on both human he ...
of the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
.
Special cases
DG - Data gaps: Strict guidelines limit the amount of data gaps. Where there are data gaps, the assessment includes a worst case scenario to determine the lowest possible Benchmark score if the data gap were filled with the highest possible hazard. These Benchmarks include a subscript of DG. A chemical that has too many data gaps receives a Benchmark U.
TP - Transformation Products: The assessment also must identify feasible and relevant environmental transformation products and benchmark them. If the Benchmark score is determined by the transformation products, the Benchmark score will include a subscript of TP.
CoHC - Chemicals of High Concern (polymer residuals & catalysts): Version 1.4 of the GreenScreen added special rules for benchmarking polymers which include analysis of residual monomers and/or catalysts present at or above 100 ppm. If the Benchmark score is determined by one of these chemicals, the Benchmark score will include a subscript of CHoC.
Applications
GreenScreen Assessments are internally used for research and product improvement by product manufacturers in many industry sectors, including electronics,
building products, textiles, apparel, and consumer products. For example
Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
is using GreenScreen framework and similar approaches to find safer materials in its products and processes. The GreenScreen is also referenced publicly by sustainability standards in several of these industries, including the Health Product Declaration Standard (HPD), Portico, Building product disclosure and optimization - material ingredients credits in the
US Green Building Council
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), co-founded by Mike Italiano, David Gottfried and Rick Fedrizzi in 1993, is a private 501(c)3, membership-based non-profit organization that promotes sustainability in building design, construction, and op ...
's
LEED
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a
green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...
program, the International Living Future Institute's Living Product Challenge (related to the
Living Building Challenge
The Living Building Challenge is an international sustainable building certification program created in 2006 by the non-profit International Living Future Institute. It is described by the Institute as a philosophy, advocacy tool and certification ...
, and by various governmental bodies.
The GreenScreen standard is developed, maintained and published by
Clean Production Action (CPA), a non profit organization, based in the United States. CPA publishes the GreenScreen as an open standard which anyone can utilize. To make a public claim using a GreenScreen Benchmark, however, the GreenScreen assessment must be completed by a Profiler licensed by CPA.
Related standards
The GreenScreen has substantial overlaps with the
(GHS) and the criteria of the US EPA’s
Design for the Environment Design for the Environment (DfE) is a design approach to reduce the overall human health and environmental impact of a product, process or service, where impacts are considered across its life cycle. Different software tools have been developed to a ...
. It differs from GHS, however, in some significant ways. GreenScreen has a lower threshold of analysis. GreenScreen includes endocrine activity, addresses PBTs more comprehensively and considers environmental transformation products. GreenScreen also requires and provides guidance for addressing data gaps. GHS, on the other hand, covers more physical workplace hazards then the GreenScreen and provides guidelines for identifying hazards across languages with icons. This reflects the GHS focus on workplace safety and communications.
The
Cradle to Cradle
Cradle-to-cradle design (also referred to as 2CC2, C2C, cradle 2 cradle, or regenerative design) is a biomimetic approach to the design of products and systems that models human industry on nature's processes, where materials are viewed as nutri ...
(C2C) Product Certification program includes a hazard screening protocol that is similar to the GreenScreen and GHS in many ways. The C2C analysis divides endpoints differently and is integrated into a product certification. There is not a standalone public assessment of individual substances.
These programs have been the subject of analysis evaluating the relationships, differences and opportunities for harmonization.
References
{{reflist
External links
GreenScreen for Safer ChemicalsClean Production Actionpublisher of the GreenScreen
Licensed GreenScreen® Public Access Providersprovide access to public GreenScreen assessment reports as part of their databases(s)
GreenScreen ProfessionalsGreenScreen Profilers and other individuals and organizations trained to provide GreenScreen services, including consulting and assessments
Building materials
Toxicology