Lab update of activities for June 2009

Alternative Cleaning Testing
As our fiscal year finished up, the TURI Lab had a very successful year. We met out goal of working with 25 companies. We conducted 125 cleaning trials for these companies. Our students also conducted 35 cleaning trials based on search requests from the CleanerSolutions website.

Our most recent project evaluated the performance of a new aerosol cleaning product line. The testing compared this new set of safer cleaning products against several other product lines for cleaning performance, odor, residue, gloss, and vertical cling. The Aspire products were as effective as the traditional aerosol formulations in many of the tests.

Another project evaluated the performance of automatic dish washing soaps. These products were compared against an industry standard product. These products were tested following ASTM D3556 Deposition on Glassware During Mechanical Dishwashing and the labs modified version of ASTM G122 Evaluating the Effectiveness of Cleaning Agents.

Students in the lab continued our testing on the Do-it-Yourself cleaning recipes.

Database
The CleanerSolutions database had features added through out the past 12 months. A new Contact the Lab feature was added, making it easier for end users to get their questions answered. An on-line survey was created that should help us continue to make changes based on the needs of the database users.

A new search feature is just being fined tuned that will allow for searching based on part descriptions.

As of now the database contains testing results for 1,860 trials run at the TURI Lab since 1993. That's about a 115 trials a year or about a trial every 3 days for 16 years.

Outreach
The lab is currently working on a chapter for the 2nd edition of the Handbook of Critical Cleaning. The chapter will focus on metal cleaning and how to select, test and implement safer cleaning products. Several case studies will be included on companies the we helped in the past year and a half.

We are still working on the setting up a disinfection-sanitation performance testing lab within the School of Health and Environment at UMass Lowell.

The lab has been asked to serve on the steering committee for the upcoming Process Cleaning Conference. The conference is being put together upon the realization that the cleaning industry has been void of any type of trade show in North America for 8 years. PCX will be the only event in North America dedicated to cleaning within the manufacturing process.

Presentations were given in 2008-9 at ASM's Heat Treating symposium in October, TUR Planner continuing education conference in November and at the Kansas State University Pollution Prevention Institute Seminar in March.

New Cleaning Process
We have two Active Ion units in the lab and will begin testing for performance this fall. We hope to include this product as part of pilot for the disinfection-sanitation performance testing lab.

TURI Status in Question

For those of you following the TURI Lab on our blog, we thought we would take a second to let you know that our state funding may have been eliminated for the next fiscal year. Read the article in the Boston Globe.

We will keep you up to date once we know more.

Lab update of activities for May 2009

Alternative Cleaning Testing
We have surpassed our goal of working with 25 companies. We have worked with 27 companies and run over 100 cleaning trials since July 1, 2008.

Most recently we evaluated a product for Green Seal's GS 41 Hand Cleaners and Hand Soaps Used for Industrial & Institutional Purposes. We put together a video clip of the process



Database
Still working on adding new features to the CleanerSolutions database.

The P2OASys data links for cleaning products is up and running for about 100 products. Here is an example of one product with P2OASys data

Outreach
We are putting together a new lab brochure on services provided.

Planning a meeting with others on UML campus looking into setting up a disinfection-sanitation performance testing lab.

Lab Equipment
Getting trained on new analytical equipment, BYK Gardner Spectro Guide

Lab update of activities for April 2009

Alternative Cleaning Testing
Two more companies have had testing done for them. Currently we are working on evaluating the performance of a dish washing detergent for EPA's DFE formulator program.

Do It Yourself Household cleaners
“What Does This Mean” section now populated with information. We have added to other resources as well.

A short video also has been added for the DIY testing process

Database
Working on Search Wizard to help users when using the database.
Working on a P2OASys data links for cleaning products – up and running
We created a feedback survey on the TURI site to provide a way for users to make suggestions on new features they would like to see.

New Cleaning Processes
We have a new dishwasher unit installed. No more washing our glassware by hand.

A representative from Activeion came in to show us their hand held ionizing cleaning product that recently received EPA certification for sterilization.

More on the DIY Household Cleaners

We have added to the health and safety pages for the ingredients. The "What does this mean?" summaries have been populated for all the ingredients. In addition, material safety data sheet links have been added for some of the products that have been tested in the lab.

Plans are in the works to restart the testing of the remaining formulations. Stay tuned.

CleanerSolutions In The Mom’s Guide to Growing Your Family Green

The lab's database is referenced in The Mom’s Guide to Growing Your Family Green: Saving the Earth Begins at Home (St. Martin’s Press), by author Terra Wellington. The first how-to book for everyday parents on saving the environment and improving the health and safety of their families hit bookshelves March 17, 2009.

The mention in the manuscript is a recommendation to use the CleanerSolutions Database to determine the greenness and safety of cleaning products in the cleaning chapter of the book.

Do-it-Yourself Household Cleaning Recipes

Recently articles on the DIY cleaning recipe work conducted at the TURI Lab:

The UMass Lowell Toxics Use Reduction Institute recently demonstrated for The Sun how it tests various solutions for safety and cleaning effectiveness.


Brazilian Women's Group work