Institute Offers Online Database for Environmental Cleaning Solutions

The Toxics Use Reduction Institute (TURI) at the University of Massachusetts–Lowell recently launched the CleanerSolutions Database, a free, online tool for evaluating surface-cleaning products. According to TURI’s laboratory testing manager, Jason Marshall, TURI has performed thousands of trials since 1993 to evaluate the effectiveness of cleaning products. Over the years, TURI has built a database with that information, along with manufacturer information on recommended uses, and TURI’s test data on global warming potential, ozone depletion potential, volatile organic content, flammability and reactivity, and acute toxicity. Manufacturers of all kinds use the database to find alternatives for their cleaning needs: “If they’re making something, nine times out of ten they’re going to have to remove something from the finished product,” Marshall said. TURI also continues to test more janitorial products, and search enhancements in the works will make the results easy for facility managers and homeowners to find. The database is online at www.cleanersolutions.org.