With the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finding very high levels of 1,4-dioxane on Long Island, NY, the New York State Legislature recently enacted the legislation “prohibiting household cleansing products, cosmetic products and personal care products that contain 1,4-dioxane”. There is a requirement to have 1,4-dioxane content in these products below 2 ppm of 1,4-dioxane by 12/31/2022 and below 1 ppm 1,4-dioxane beginning 12/31/2023. Additional 1,4-dioxane regulations are likely to crop up in other states in the near future. BASF Analytics North America developed a trace quantitative analytical method using headspace GC/FID to determine 1,4-dioxane contents in a wide range of BASF surfactant products. This analytical method supports our investigations into minimizing the 1,4-dioxane content in surfactant production.
