In the exceptionally hot and dry summer of 1959, piles of foam appeared on rivers and canals, especially at weirs and locks, which even hindered navigation. The German government then set up the "Detergents and Water" (HAD) main committee, which was made up of representatives from the water industry, the detergent raw materials and detergent industries, as well as experts from the authorities and scientists. The task of this committee was to investigate the cause of foam nuisance and to develop measures to prevent it. Committees with the same remit were set up in the USA and England. Tetrapropylene benzene sulphonate (TPS), which is not sufficiently biodegradable, was very soon recognised as the cause of the foaming problems and increasingly replaced soap in detergents and cleaning agents from around 1950. The German government then passed the "Law on Detergents in Detergents and Cleaning Agents", which came into force in September 1961. This law was the world's first environmental protection law.

The HAD developed methods for testing biodegradability in a screening and a continuous test. The latter simulated the state of the art in municipal sewage treatment plants at the time. In addition, an analytical method was developed for the quantitative determination of anionic surfactants in wastewater treatment plants, surface waters and degradation tests. These methods were laid down as binding in the ordinance on the "Detergents Act", which came into force in 1964. In addition, at least 80 per cent primary biodegradability was required for anionic surfactants used in detergents and cleaning agents. Parallel to these legal regulations, the detergent raw materials industry succeeded in replacing TPS with a linear alkyl benzene sulphonate (LAS). As a result, the concentrations of anionic surfactants in surface waters fell drastically. Foam nuisance became a thing of the past.

HAD subsequently played a key role in the development of further and refined surfactant analysis methods. The wastewater treatment plant simulation test was adapted to the current state of wastewater treatment plant technology in order to ensure the simulation of real conditions. Coupling the simulation model with continuous ecotoxicity tests makes it possible to predict the effect of surfactant degradation products on organisms in flowing waters. A watercourse simulation model developed by the HAD was not able to establish itself for non-scientific reasons.

In 1988, the HAD published the two-part status report "Ecologically relevant data on surfactants in detergents and cleaning agents", which attracted considerable attention beyond Germany's borders.

The HAD was significantly involved in comprehensive LAS monitoring at German sewage treatment plants and watercourses (1993 - 1995). The results were presented at a HAD symposium in Frankfurt am Main in 1997 and made a decisive contribution to the Federal Environment Agency's (UBA) statement that "LAS poses no danger to aquatic organisms after passing through biological sewage treatment plants".

In November 2005, together with Sepawa and the "Forum Waschen für die Zukunft", a highly regarded colloquium was organised on the subject of fragrances.

The so-called HAD list was developed as an important instrument for assessing the environmental properties of detergents, rinsing agents and cleaning agents in view of the high degree of connection to sewage treatment plants in Germany (> 90 percent). It enables the comparative evaluation of different formulations and the identification of target-oriented development directions. the main committee "Detergents and Water" remained in existence as an advisory body to the Federal Government until the UBA was founded in 1974. It then had the status of a scientific committee. In 1993, the HAD was integrated as such into the specialist group "Detergent Chemistry" (today: specialist group "Detergent Chemistry") of the German Chemical Society (GDCh). As a committee of this specialist group, the HAD fulfils a scientific advisory function to those working in its field. The areas of work and tasks of the HAD were redefined in 2016.

The equal composition of the HAD has always been maintained. However, members of the water management sector are no longer represented due to positive changes in the water situation and the changed tasks of the HAD.

When assessing the environmental aspects of detergents and cleaning agents, it is taken into account that the ingredients enter the aquatic environment after use and can affect aquatic ecosystems there according to their toxicity. In the DID and HAD lists, ingredients are listed with their associated data for aquatic toxicity (LTE = Long Term Effect) and biodegradability or elimination in the sewage treatment plant (LF = Loading Factor).
The DID list is published by the EU Commission. In the new version of 2014 the system has been changed compared to the previous version and new substances have been included. The new 2014 DID list must be used for all applications for the eco-label.
As with all previously published DID lists, the derivation rules for the evaluation of the individual detergent and cleaning agent ingredients with regard to their elimination during wastewater treatment and their aquatic toxicity are based on criteria that do not reflect the conditions of wastewater treatment in Germany. In the past, a working group of the Detergents Main Committee (HAD) of the GDCh-FG "Detergent Chemistry" therefore adapted the derivation rules so that the data assigned to the individual detergent ingredients in the list correspond to the wastewater treatment situation in Germany. Due to the publication of the new DID list 2014, it was decided at the meeting of the Detergents Main Committee held on 27 November 2014 to once again adapt the HAD list to the DID list with regard to the substances contained in this list.
The selection of individual substances listed in the DID list 2014 and the modified numbering compared to the previous list version were adopted for the HAD list. LTE and LF values of substances newly included in the DID List 2014 were derived according to the HAD derivation rules and entered in the HAD List. On the basis of more recent and generally available data (e.g. from REACH reports), LTE and LF values for substances already included in the HAD list are updated. The inherent substance properties are also the same in both lists. Only the assessment and safety factors are different. In the HAD list, it was taken into account that the properties change after entry into the wastewater (e.g. NaOH "loses" its hazardous activity due to the high dilution in the wastewater).

IHO - Industrieverband Hygiene und Oberflächenschutz für industrielle und institutionelle Anwendung e. V.V.

* Chair

HAD list (As of 02 Dec.2025)

Excel-Programm to calculate the crit. Dilution volume for WRM formulations based on the HAD list

Dilution rules