International rift emerging over regulation of NPEs
The US Environment Protection Agency (EPA) has announced plans to set water quality standards for nonyl phenol - a key toxic breakdown product of nonyl phenol ethoxylate (NPE) surfactants - which are twenty times higher than those proposed in Europe. The move looks likely to result in a significant disparity in the regulation of products containing NPEs - with some products being banned in Europe but freely used in the US.