The American Cleaning Institute (ACI) launched a detailed online inventory of ingredients used in cleaning products as part of ACI's Cleaning Product Ingredient Safety Initiative.

The new Cleaning Product Ingredient Inventory is available on ACI's Science website, www.ACIscience.org.

The Inventory features a list of more than 900 chemical ingredients used by ACI members to manufacture cleaning products, including laundry care products (e.g., laundry detergents, fabric softeners), dish care products (automatic dish detergents, hand dish detergents) and hard surface cleaners.

"The Cleaning Product Ingredient Safety Initiative is one of ACI's many efforts to promote the responsible management of our members' products and the safety of the ingredients in them," said Dr. Paul DeLeo, ACI Senior Director, Environmental Safety. "The first step in this initiative is to compile and make publicly available a comprehensive inventory of ingredients used among its members in the formulation of home use cleaning products sold in the United States. The initiative focuses on laundry care, dish care and hard surface cleaning products."

The Cleaning Product Ingredient Inventory collected ingredient information from 900 consumer cleaning products manufactured by ACI members. ACI developed and published the unique ingredient names and, where available, associated Chemical Abstract Service (CAS) numbers, as part of the consolidated Ingredient Inventory.

The Inventory will be most useful to regulators, researchers, and cleaning product industry formulators and suppliers, looking for a comprehensive list of the ingredients used in cleaning products.

In 2010, ACI and industry allies launched the Consumer Product Ingredient Communication Initiative. Under this program, companies are voluntarily sharing with consumers more information than ever about the ingredients in their products (air care products, automotive care products, cleaning products, and polishes and floor maintenance products).

"ACI has ambitious goals for our Cleaning Product Ingredient Safety Initiative," said DeLeo.

• To identify publicly available hazard data sets for each chemical ingredient used in our members' formulated consumer cleaning products
• To conduct an exposure assessment consistent with the use of the ingredients
• To conduct a screening-level risk assessment demonstrating the safe use of those ingredients

"The Ingredient Inventory represents the first step of this multi-year project. We anticipate completing the next step, identification of publicly available hazard data, in 2013."

The Ingredient Inventory and supporting information can be found at www.ACIscience.org and at www.cleaninginstitute.org/ingredientcentral.