GreenEarth Cleaning is a patented process for drycleaning using liquid
siliconeSilicones are largely inert, man-made compounds with a wide variety of forms and uses. Typically heat-resistant, nonstick, and rubber-like, they are commonly used in cookware, medical applications, sealants, adhesives, lubricants, insulation, and breast implants.Silicones are polymers that include...
(decamethylpentacyclosiloxane, or D5), a clear, odorless, non-toxic
solventA solvent is a liquid, solid, or gas that dissolves another solid, liquid, or gaseous solute, resulting in a solution.The most common solvent in everyday life is water. Most other commonly-used solvents are organic chemicals. These are called organic solvents...
solution in a closed loop system. D5 degrades into silica (
SiO2The chemical compound silicon dioxide, also known as silica , is an oxide of silicon with a chemical formula of ' and has been known for its hardness since antiquity. Silica is most commonly found in nature as sand or quartz, as well as in the cell walls of diatoms...
) and trace amounts of water and carbon dioxide within days if spilled or disposed of. There are currently more than 1,500 drycleaners using D5 worldwide.
D5 solvent is chemically inert, meaning it does not interact with textiles or dyes during the cleaning process.
GreenEarth Cleaning is a patented process for drycleaning using liquid
siliconeSilicones are largely inert, man-made compounds with a wide variety of forms and uses. Typically heat-resistant, nonstick, and rubber-like, they are commonly used in cookware, medical applications, sealants, adhesives, lubricants, insulation, and breast implants.Silicones are polymers that include...
(decamethylpentacyclosiloxane, or D5), a clear, odorless, non-toxic
solventA solvent is a liquid, solid, or gas that dissolves another solid, liquid, or gaseous solute, resulting in a solution.The most common solvent in everyday life is water. Most other commonly-used solvents are organic chemicals. These are called organic solvents...
solution in a closed loop system. D5 degrades into silica (
SiO2The chemical compound silicon dioxide, also known as silica , is an oxide of silicon with a chemical formula of ' and has been known for its hardness since antiquity. Silica is most commonly found in nature as sand or quartz, as well as in the cell walls of diatoms...
) and trace amounts of water and carbon dioxide within days if spilled or disposed of. There are currently more than 1,500 drycleaners using D5 worldwide.
D5 solvent properties
D5 solvent is chemically inert, meaning it does not interact with textiles or dyes during the cleaning process. This helps keep preserve the quality of garments, eliminate problems with color loss, maintain a soft “hand” and prevent shrinkage. Unlike petroleum based solvents like perc or hydrocarbon, D5 is odorless and does not leave a chemical smell on clothes.
The International Fabricare Institute (the leading trade association for garment care and dry cleaning) conducted an independent, comprehensive study of the GreenEarth Cleaning system in 2002 to assess its effectiveness in comparison with perc. Tests and evaluations in direct comparison to perc resulted in IFI assessments on six criteria: cleaning performance; ability to handle a variety of fabrics and trims; labor and operating costs; capital costs; health and safety; and potential for contamination. GreenEarth consistently received excellent or good ratings in every category and was found to be a viable alternative for the drycleaning industry. Perc and GreenEarth were concluded to be “virtually identical in terms of the ability to remove stains completely” except in the cases of ballpoint pen and shoe polish stains.
The IFI also tested common materials that pose problems for regular drycleaners, such as leather, faux fur, sequined and metallic garments. Specialty fabrics and decorative trims withstood the GreenEarth process much better than the perc process, which often destroys such items.
A separate independent evaluation of alternative solvents by the IFI in 2007 using the same criteria rated GreenEarth as "good" in the areas of capital costs and health, and “excellent” in the categories of cleaning, environmental safety, ability to handle fabrics and trims and labor/operating efficiency. Perc received a “poor” rating in the areas of health and environmental safety and excellent in all other areas.
Environmental profile
- Is not a volatile organic compound
Volatile organic compounds areorganic chemical compounds that have highenough vapor pressures under normal conditions to significantlyvaporize and enter the atmosphere.Volatile organic compounds are numerous and varied...
(VOC)
- Is safe for air, soil and water
- Does not pose an adverse health risk to the publichttp://www.arb.ca.gov/toxics/dryclean/d5districtletter.pdf
- Not regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act , enacted in 1976, is the principal Federal law in the United States governing the disposal of solid waste and hazardous waste.-History and Goals:...
(RCRA) or Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA)
- Listed by the EPA as a “SNAP” (Significant New Alternatives Policy) material, a good substance to use in place of ozone-depleting chemicals
- Degrades to silica and trace amounts of water and CO2
- Requires no special permit (except in the Bay Area Air Quality Management District
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District is a public agency that regulates the stationary sources of air pollution in the nine counties of California's San Francisco Bay Area: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, southwestern Solano, and southern Sonoma...
(BAAQMD), where a permit is required not to have a permit)
- Not listed on California Proposition 65
Health and safety
D5 has many commercial and industrial applications beyond dry cleaning, and is the base ingredient in many personal care products such as body lotions, soaps, underarm deodorants, and shampoos. It may be listed as
dimethiconePolydimethylsiloxane belongs to a group of polymeric organosilicon compounds which are commonly referred to as silicones. PDMS is the most widely used silicon-based organic polymer, and is particularly known for its unusual rheological properties...
,
polydimethylsiloxanePolydimethylsiloxane belongs to a group of polymeric organosilicon compounds which are commonly referred to as silicones. PDMS is the most widely used silicon-based organic polymer, and is particularly known for its unusual rheological properties...
, cyclosiloxane,
siloxaneA siloxane is any chemical compound composed of units of the form R2SiO, where R is a hydrogen atom or a hydrocarbon group. They belong to the wider class of organosilicon compounds....
or other abbreviations as an ingredient. It is non-toxic, non-irritating to skin, non-sensitizing and has no immunosuppressant effects. More than 30 studies on D5, performed at a cost in excess of $30 million, have been conducted and the data support the safe use of D5 in all of its many applications, including dry cleaning. No other alternative dry cleaning solvent has been subjected to independent health and safety testing.
GreenEarth was given excellent ratings for health and safety by the IFI in its 2007 Alternative Solvent Evaluation. Independent waste stream and air exposure testing, conducted by Severn Trent Laboratories and California Industrial Hygiene Services, confirmed that D5 as used in daily dry cleaning operation exceeds all federal, state and local requirements for water and air safety.
Bioassay study
A two-year bioassay study was commissioned by
Dow CorningDow Corning is a multinational corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, USA. Dow Corning specializes in silicon and silicone-based technology, offering more than 7,000 products and services...
, a manufacturer of D5, to study the effects of inhalation of D5 at the highest concentration possible (160 ppm, total air saturation) on lab rats. The rats were exposed to fumes six hours a day, five days a week, for two years. The results, submitted to the EPA under the
Toxic Substances Control ActThe Toxic Substances Control Act is a United States law, passed by the United States Congress in 1976, that regulates the introduction of new or already existing chemicals. It grandfathered most existing chemicals, in contrast to the Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals ...
(TSCA) section 8(e) in 2003, showed an increased risk of uterine tumors and increased liver weight in female rats. No effects were seen in male rats. Based on the observed effects, follow up research was conducted by the
Silicones Environmental, Health and Safety Council (SEHSC) and concluded that the effects observed in the Dow Corning study were rat-specific, not relevant to humans, and did not pose a health risk to humans. The SEHSC report also pointed out that the concentration of D5 that the rats were exposed far exceeded workplace or consumer exposure from dry cleaning applications; the average exposure to a silicone in a drycleaning plant is less than 3 ppm. The Dow Corning study was a risk assessment of the chemical D5, not its application in a dry cleaning operation. The federal EPA has not moved to conduct a risk assessment of D5 in dry cleaning or other applications. However, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) conducted an 18-month study of D5 as it is used in dry cleaning. In February 2008, CARB concluded that D5 does not pose a health risk to the public, and does not see a need to regulate its use in dry cleaning.
External links