High Production Volume Chemical Amine Oxides [C8–C20] Category Environmental Risk Assessment

An environmental assessment of amine oxides has been conducted under the OECD SIDS High Production Volume (HPV) Program via the Global International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA) Amine Oxides Consortium. Amine oxides are primarily used in conjunction with surfactants in cleaning and personal care products. Given the lack of persistence or bioaccumulation, and the low likelihood of these chemicals partitioning to soil, the focus of the environmental assessment is on the aquatic environment. In the United States, the E-FAST model is used to estimate effluent concentrations in the United States from manufacturing facilities and from municipal facilities resulting from consumer product uses. Reasonable worst-case ratios of predicted environmental concentration (PEC) to predicted no effect concentration (PNEC) range from 0.04 to 0.003, demonstrating that these chemicals are a low risk to the environment.     

An Integrated Structural/Strategic Approach To Family Therapy

While the structural and strategic family approaches have many similarities, their espoused differences have sometimes left therapists in a position of having to choose between them. However, they may be more compatible than has commonly been believed. This paper reviews their basic concepts and operations and presents a model for integrating both approaches in a concurrent and contrapuntal fashion, drawing on the best and most appropriate features of each. Case examples are used to clarify points. Special attention is given to the technique of "strategic disengagement." A set of rules is provided for decision-making as to when one approach or the other might be applied.