EPA's Safer Choice Criteria for Specialized Industrial Products
Original document issued: October 2012 (amendments noted and dated in text)
Specialized Industrial Products (SIPs) are a distinct subgroup of products that meet
tailored criteria under the Safer Choice Program. Safer Choice is using the term
"specialized" for this subset of l/l products to distinguish them based on performance
requirements from other, more common l/l products, like cleaners and detergents, and
to indicate that they require certain ingredients with special, high-performance
functionalities. Nevertheless, to earn the Safer Choice label, a candidate product and
its ingredients must meet the general SIP criteria, in section II, as well as the subclass-
specific requirements, in section III.
I. Context
The Safer Choice approach to product review and recognition focuses on identifying the
safest possible chemical ingredients within the functional classes that are necessary for
a product to perform well. Evaluating the human and environmental health
characteristics of ingredients in their functional-class context allows Safer Choice to:
Compare the toxicological characteristics of chemistries that serve a similar purpose;
identify the characteristics that help distinguish the safer members of the class;
determine which members of the class meet Safer Choice safer chemical criteria, as
well as drive the class toward innovative new formulations. Safer Choice has
developed ingredient criteria based on these principles to define safer chemicals for use
in cleaning formulations in general and for the following component-specific classes:
surfactants, solvents, chelating agents and fragrances (see Safer Choice Master
Criteria and ingredient class criteria).
Recognizing the potential to encourage and ensure safer formulations in specialized
and technical applications, like floor finishes and strippers, the Safer Choice Program
has included recognition for safer specialized industrial and institutional products. To
accommodate the greater functional demands placed on the chemistry in specialized
products, Safer Choice will allow limited exceptions to its standard criteria (designed for
chemicals used in basic cleaning and similar applications), as described below.
To be specific, high-performance ingredients for industrial products that do not meet the
Master Criteria must: Serve a critical and specialized functional need in the formulation;
be present at the lowest level that achieves its function, but for any product category,
not to exceed, in aggregate, 10% of finished product ingredients; and be the subject of
active continuous improvement efforts and a search for innovative alternatives. These
ingredients may become the focus of a Safer Choice Safer Chemistry Challenges and
be added to a new "Challenge" page on our website (see section IV, below).

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Manufacturers must also design and market qualifying products for use only in industrial
and institutional settings and monitor them for potential adverse health effects and
report any such occurrences to Safer Choice. Further, Safer Choice will ensure that the
ingredients allowed will be from the safest in their functional component class, and, at a
minimum, no ingredient in a specialized industrial product will be a listed carcinogen,
mutagen or reproductive or developmental toxicant, or a persistent, bioaccumulative
and toxic chemical.
As product types appropriate for application of these criteria come to Safer Choice's
attention, they will be posted in section III, along with the specific product and
component-class criteria under which they qualify for the Safer Choice label. Please
note that specialized product ingredients will be included in EPA's Safer Chemical
Ingredients List (at www2.epa.gov/saferchoice/safer-ingredients), with restricted high-
performance ingredients designated by a yellow triangle.
II. General Criteria
Given the significant potential for safer formulation, Safer Choice will recognize certain
products designed for specialized industrial and institutional applications. To qualify for
recognition, candidate products must comply with the provisions in the Safer Choice
Standard, with the following limited exceptions and conditions:
1)	All ingredients must comply with the general component-specific requirements in
section 5 of the Safer Choice Standard, except for certain high-performance
ingredients;
2)	High-performance ingredients that do not meet the Safer Choice Master Criteria
must:
a.	Serve a critical and specialized functional need in the formulation;
b.	Be selected from among the safest in their class, as measured against the
Safer Choice Master Criteria;
c.	Exclude listed carcinogens, mutagens and reproductive or developmental
toxicants, and persistent, toxic and bioaccumulative substances, as per
the Master Criteria;
d.	Be limited in the finished product to the maximum extent possible, as
appropriate to the product class, but not to exceed a total of 10% of
finished product ingredients (unless noted otherwise);
e.	Be the subject of active continuous improvement efforts and a search for
innovative alternatives, as verified during annual audits; and
f.	Be added to EPA's Safer Chemical Ingredients List as a yellow-triangle
chemical and highlighted as a target for improvement/safer chemistry
challenge (see section IV).

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3)	In addition, manufacturers must design and market qualifying products for use
only in industrial and institutional settings; and
4)	Must monitor qualifying products for potential adverse health effects and report
any occurrences to EPA's Safer Choice program.
As product categories qualify under these provisions, EPA will specify on its web site
the ingredient limits and other conditions that are required for the sector. Companies
may use the Safer Choice label on qualifying products, but must modify the tagline to
read: "Recognized as a Safer Industrial Product." Qualifying products will appear on
Safer Choice's products web page, now with a SIP notation. As with all Safer Choice
products, annual audits will verify SIP compliance with the Safer Choice Standard and
ingredient criteria.
III. Qualifying SIP Classes and Components
A. Floor finishes and strippers. Floor finishes and strippers that meet the Safer
Choice Standard and the safer ingredient criteria—with special requirements for
leveling agents and plasticizers in floor finishes, and solubilizers in floor
strippers—will be eligible for recognition by Safer Choice and to use the Safer
Choice label with a modified tagline, "Recognized as a Safer Industrial Product."
To qualify, any leveling agents, plasticizers, or solubililzers in a candidate product
must be among the safest functional alternatives and, at a minimum, not be listed as
a carcinogen, mutagen, or reproductive or developmental toxicant, as per the Safer
Choice Master Criteria (at www2.epa.gov/saferchoice/standard#tab-2, specifically,
tables 2, 3, and 6b; or per authoritative flagging lists for reproductive and
developmental toxicity). In addition, the formulation must meet the following
parameters:
a)	Fluorosurfactant leveling agents in finishes must have carbon-chain lengths
less than eight molecules and must not degrade to perfluorooctanoic acid
(PFOA) or perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS);
b)	Plasticizers in finishes must have a human and environmental health profile at
least on a par with tributoxyethyl phosphate and not exceed 3.0 percent
(weight-by-weight) in the formulation;
c)	Small amine solubilizers, only allowed in floor strippers, must have a human
and environmental health profile at least on a par with monoethanolamine and
not exceed 8.0 percent (weight-by-weight) in the formulation;
d)	Any pH adjusters must have a human and environmental health profile at
least on a par with ammonium hydroxide (ammonium carbonate or
ammonium bicarbonate) and not exceed 1.0 percent (weight-by-weight) in the
formulation; and

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e) The total percentage of fluorosurfactants, plasticizers, and yellow-triangle
solvents/coalescents (for finishes), and solubilizers and yellow-triangle
solvents (for strippers) must not exceed 10% (weight-by-weight).
(*Small amines: Water-soluble compounds having a basic nitrogen functional group.
The amine nitrogen atom may be mono- (primary amines), di- (secondary amines) or
tri-substituted (tertiary amines). The organic aliphatic substituent(s) may include
ether and/or hydroxyl functional groups. Small amines serve as solubilizing agents
and pH adjustors. Typical small amines will have MW <200 and no more than 9
carbon atoms.)
For a list of Safer Choice floor finishes and strippers, see the Safer Choice products
web page at www2.epa.gov/saferchoice/products.
B.	Field paints [1/9/14], Field paints that meet the Safer Choice Standard and the
safer ingredient criteria—with special requirements for solubilizers/pH adjusters
and certain non-readily-biodegradable components—will be eligible for
recognition by Safer Choice and to use the Safer Choice label with a modified
tagline, "Recognized as a Safer Industrial Product."
To qualify, any pH adjusters in a candidate product must be among the safest
functional alternatives and, at a minimum, not be listed as a carcinogen, mutagen, or
reproductive or developmental toxicant, as per the Safer Choice Master Criteria (at
www2.epa.gov/saferchoice/standard#tab-2, specifically, tables 2, 3, and 6b; or per
authoritative flagging lists for reproductive and developmental toxicity). In addition,
the formulation must meet the following parameters:
a)	Any pH adjusters must have a human and environmental health profile at least
on a par with ammonium hydroxide and not exceed 1.0 percent (weight-by-
weight) in the formulation; and
b)	The total percentage of non-readily-biodegradable ingredients (excluding
inorganics) must not exceed 10.0 percent (weight-by-weight) in the formulation.
C.	Di-electric fluids [2/3/14], Di-electric fluids that meet the Safer Choice Standard
and the safer ingredient criteria—with special requirements for antioxidant
preservatives—will be eligible for recognition by Safer Choice and to use the
Safer Choice label with a modified tagline, "Recognized as a Safer Industrial
Product."
To qualify, any antioxidant preservatives in a candidate product must be among the
safest functional alternatives and, at a minimum, not be listed as a carcinogen,
mutagen, or reproductive or developmental toxicant, as per the Safer Choice Master
Criteria (at www2.epa.gov/saferchoice/standard#tab-2, specifically, tables 2, 3, and

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6b; or per authoritative flagging lists for reproductive and developmental toxicity). In
addition, the formulation must meet the following parameters:
a) Any antioxidant preservatives must have a human and environmental health
profile at least on a par with butylated reaction products of p-cresol and
dicyclopentadiene (CAS # 68610-51 -5) and not exceed 1.0 percent (weight-by-
weight) in the formulation.
D. Grease and Paint Removers [2/11/15] and Stainless Steel Cleaners [9/3/15],
Grease and paint removers and stainless steel cleaners that meet the Safer
Choice Standard and the safer ingredient criteria—with special requirements for
methyl soyate solvents—will be eligible for recognition by Safer Choice and to
use the Safer Choice label with a modified tagline, "Recognized as a Safer
Industrial Product."
To qualify, any solvent in a candidate product must be among the safest functional
alternatives and, at a minimum, not be listed as a carcinogen, mutagen, or
reproductive or developmental toxicant, as per the Safer Choice Master Criteria (at
www2.epa.gov/saferchoice/standard#tab-2, specifically, tables 2, 3, and 6b; or per
authoritative flagging lists for reproductive and developmental toxicity). In addition,
the formulation must meet the following parameters:
a)	Any solvent must have a human and environmental health profile at least on a
par with methyl soyate (CAS # 67784-80-9); on this basis, a 10% maximum does
not apply; and
b)	Labeled formulations must carry a notice stating: "When used outdoors, avoid
environmental releases," or similar language approved by Safer Choice.
IV. Safer Chemistry Challenges
Through its work in the Safer Choice Program and especially in reviewing specialized
industrial and institutional products, Safer Choice has become aware of components in
products that do not meet its standard criteria for safer ingredients. To complement its
recognition program for SIP formulations, Safer Choice is announcing a safer chemistry
challenge for ingredients in recognized products that have not met its safer chemical
criteria.
The following chart presents a potential set of elements for a possible Safer Chemistry
Challenge based on the qualifying SIP classes and components: floor finishes and
strippers, and field paints. It indicates the product type, components and their functional
attributes, and current alternatives for which Safer Choice, its product manufacturer
partners, health and environmental advocates, and others are seeking safer alternatives.
(Safer Choice would welcome your comments on the Safer Chemistry Challenge

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concept and any aspects of these hypothetical floor care and field paint challenges and
their elements.)
Product Type
Component
Functional Attributes
Current Alternatives
Floor Finish
Leveling agent
Ensures that coating has
an even and smooth
finish
Shorter chain fluorinated
surfactants, < 6 carbon
atoms
Plasticizer
Causes components to
form a surface coating
that is durable, slip
resistant, and has other
properties
Tributoxyethyl
phosphate (TBEP)

pH adjuster
Modifies the product pH
Ammonium hydroxide,
ammonium carbonate,
ammonium bicarbonate
Floor Stripper
Solubilizer
Serves multiple
functions, including pH
adjustment, keeping
ingredients in solution,
and solvency to break
down the finish
Small amines
Field Paint
pH adjuster
Modifies the product pH
Ammonium hydroxide
Di-electric Fluid
Preservative-
antioxidant
Prevents spoilage of bio-
based di-electric fluid
over long periods of use.
Butylated reaction
products of p-cresol and
dicyclopentadiene; or
butylated
hydroxytoluene
Grease and
Paint Remover
and Stainless
Steel Cleaner
Solvent
Removes difficult-to-
dissolve materials from a
variety of substrates.
Solvents that raise
human health and
environmental concerns,
like methylene chloride,
trichloroethane, and n-
methylpyrrolidone;
methyl soyate, which
has a safer human
health profile, raises
concerns for aquatic
toxicity.

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