Green Seal Initiates Revision of GS-37 Standard for Cleaners

Green Seal, a national non-profit organization, announces the beginning of a comprehensive review and revision of GS-37, its environmental standard for institutional and industrial cleaning products, and invites all interested stakeholders to actively participate. The revision is expected to take about a year and will include a formal public review of the proposed revisions about half-way through the process.

Since GS-37 was first developed in 2000, technology has improved and new information has arisen about issues such as emissions, endocrine disruptors and asthmagens. Since major entities such as New York State have adopted GS-37 for schools, issues have been raised about its adequacy in protecting the health of sensitive and vulnerable populations such as school-age children and custodial workers.

"The primary goal of revising GS-37," stated Arthur Weissman, Ph.D., President and CEO of Green Seal, Inc. "is to ensure that it continues to represent an environmental leadership standard in the marketplace and to incorporate criteria that fully protect human health, including that of children and custodial workers."

The review and revision of GS-37 will be managed by Green Seal with the help of an executive committee that will include New York State, which is providing major funding for the project; the Healthy Schools Network, Inc., a national environmental health organization that promotes healthy learning environments for children, personnel, and communities; Routt Reigart, M.D., of the Medical University of South Carolina, a leading pediatric health expert; TerraChoice, administrator of the EcoLogo Program; and ISSA, the trade association of the cleaning industry. The University of Tennessee Center for Clean Products and Clean Technologies will assist in research and development and also will manage the stakeholders' process. Additional technical assistance will be sought from Greenguard Institute, NIOSH, and other expert sources.

Green Seal develops its environmental standards in an open and transparent process. The public will have an opportunity to comment when the standard is proposed for public review. Stakeholders will also have the opportunity, through a representative stakeholders committee, to provide input throughout the process, including scoping, drafting of the proposed revised standard, and addressing issues raised in the public review. All stakeholders or interested parties who want to be more actively involved in the review process of GS-37 should send an e-mail to Green Seal with their full contact information, including their organization or occupation, by February 15, 2007, at GS37@utk.edu.

Green Seal is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to safeguarding the environment and transforming the marketplace by promoting the manufacture, purchase, and use of environmentally responsible products and services. Green Seal's evaluations are based on state-of-the-art science and information using internationally recognized methods and procedures. Green Seal standards are used by a variety of public- and private-sector institutions, such as the National Park Service and the World Bank.

Contact:
Email: greenseal@greenseal.org
Mail: 1001 Connecticut Ave. NW Ste. 827, Washington DC 20036
Phone: 202-872-6400