Greenseal (
greenseal.org) and US EPA (US EPA DFE program) are two entities that offer certifications to assist the public in finding chemicals that meet their design standards. They do so in cooperation with manufacturers that test their own products and/or evaluate the chemical components. They "screen" each ingredient for potential human health and environmental effects. But that is as far as they go. They are not without some measure of controversy, because there are identified manners in which suspect products can be made to comply (creative use instructions), but do not readily seem to be logically "safe". As well, some conditions of compliance considered onerous and irrelevant are employed, due to lobbying (e.g. promotion of using cold water, versus hot, as creation of hot water itself expends fuel, etc).
Since just about any chemical
compound can be potentially hazardous, the public is urged to make their own discretionary decisions based upon examination of MSDS sheets that should indicate possible hazards, and mitigation methods.
greenseal.org
http://www.epa.gov/dfe/