union carbide surfactants

[Josh <scenicev@mhv.net>]

Below is a press release from Union Carbide announcing a partnership with 
EPA to promote a new kind of surfactant that is said to be better for the 
environment.  The press release is a little short on detail.  Does anyone 
know about this?  Is it as beneficial as UC claims?

Thanks,  

Josh Cleland
Scenic Hudson  


  DANBURY, Conn., Nov. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Union Carbide Corporation
(NYSE: UK) today announced that a partnership has been established 
between
the
company and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the recently
established Environmental Technology Initiative (ETI) for Chemicals -- 
the
first such pact between an industrial firm and the EPA.  The EPA ETI 
program
provides a non-regulatory alternative for the development and risk 
management
of new chemical technology which, in Union Carbide's case, is embodied in 
a
unique new family of surfactants -- chemicals used in industrial and
institutional cleaners for soil removal, as wetting agents and process 
aids
in
pulp, paper and textile manufacturing, and in other industrial 
applications.
          The new Union Carbide products, known as TRITON SP Series
Surfactants,
have characteristics that differentiate them from all other surfactants
currently on the market.  When the properties or function of the 
surfactant
are no longer needed in a given process, a key chemical bond can easily 
be
destroyed, creating two non-surface-active and non-polluting fragments.  
When
used in industrial laundry detergents or metalworking fluids, for 
example,
the
deactivation of TRITON SP Surfactants allows for rapid and effective
separation of major pollutants, such as fats, oils and greases, from 
process
waste waters.  The separated materials can be effectively recycled or
treated,
and the clean effluent can be discharged.  The "splitting" or 
deactivation
property can be used to advantage in a wide range of other formulating
applications.
          Lynn Goldman, the EPA's Assistant Administrator for Prevention,
Pesticides
and Toxic Substances, said, "We recognized that Union Carbide's new
surfactant
technology offers substantial benefits to the environment, and thus made 
it
the subject of the first industry partnership under the Environmental
Technology Initiative for Chemicals."  She added that the partnership 
with
Union Carbide exemplifies cooperative relationships with industry that 
strive
to promote effective product stewardship and sensible risk management, 
and
achieve measurable environmental and human health benefits.
      CO:  Union Carbide Corporation; U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency
      ST:  Connecticut
      IN:  CHM ENV
      SU:  PDT