Cancer-causing 1,4-Dioxane Found in Children’s Bath Products
Women’s Shampoos and Body Wash also Contaminated
A hidden cancer-causing petrochemical has been found in dozens of children’s bath products and adults’ personal care products, in some cases at levels that are more than twice the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s lenient recommended maximum.
Laboratory tests released today by the National Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and the Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow revealed the presence of 1,4-Dioxane in products such as Hello Kitty Bubble Bath, Huggies Baby Wash, Johnson’s Baby Wash, Scooby-Doo Bubble Bath and Sesame Street Bubble Bath.
The tests also found the carcinogen in Clairol Herbal Essences shampoo, Olay Complete Body Wash and many other personal care products.
1,4-Dioxane is considered a probable human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and an established animal carcinogen by the National Toxicology Program. It is also on California’s Proposition 65 list of chemicals known or suspected by the state to cause cancer or birth defects.
“Because the FDA does not require cosmetics products to be tested and approved as safe before they are sold to consumers, companies can put unlimited amounts of toxic chemicals into cosmetics,” said Deborah Shields, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition.
“We cannot expect to stop the epidemic of breast and other cancers when carcinogens are routinely used in personal care products and other kinds of products we use in our homes everyday. Government and industry must both take responsibility to ensure the short and long term safety of consumer products,” Shields said.
Today’s news is particularly troubling for parents, many of whom expressed their frustration that companies spend significant amounts of money on advertising their products to children but won’t spend pennies to remove contaminants such as 1,4-Dioxane.
“As a parent, I am outraged to learn that the shampoo I used on my son for the last 10 years contains an undisclosed carcinogen,” said Love Albrecht-Howard of Hingham. “And I am outraged that companies are refusing to take steps to prevent us from bathing our babies in cancer-causing chemicals. Parents need to demand that product manufacturers remove obvious toxins from personal care products, and our government should require them to do so,” Howard said.
Contrary to what many consumers may believe, the FDA does not review or regulate cosmetics products or ingredients for safety before they are sold to the public and has no legal authority to require safety assessments of cosmetics. The FDA has been measuring 1,4-Dioxane levels since 1979, but because the agency has little authority or enforcement capacity over the cosmetics industry, it has worked with manufacturers to reduce levels on a voluntary basis only.
In 2000, the FDA recommended that cosmetic products should not contain 1,4-Dioxane at concentrations greater than 10 ppm (parts per million); yet some 15 percent of products tested exceeded even these lenient guidelines. This limit also does not take into account that babies exposed to 1,4-Dioxane from baby shampoo may be exposed at the same time to 1,4-Dioxane from bubble bath, body wash and many other products.
“We shouldn’t have to send our kids’ shampoos to the lab to find out whether they contain chemical carcinogens. We need systematic research and policies to assess the health risks of chemicals before we put them in our shopping cart,” said Silent Spring Institute Executive Director Dr. Julia Brody.
“In a Silent Spring Institute study of 120 homes, we found that everyday consumer products, like the ones tested here, are a substantial source of exposure to chemical mixtures that haven’t been adequately tested for health effects.”
More than two dozen products were tested by West Coast Analytical Service, an independent testing laboratory specializing in trace chemical analysis. Among the products tested:
The Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow is a statewide coalition of over 160 organizations working for replacement of toxic chemicals with safer alternatives whenever they are available. Specifically, AHT is urging cosmetics companies to remove all known or suspected toxic ingredients from all of their products. AHT is also calling on state policy makers to require that companies use safer alternatives to toxic chemicals when they are available.
“Governor Romney turned a blind eye when we pressed him to make sure that children’s products sold in Massachusetts are safe,” said Leise Jones, spokesperson for the Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow. “We hope that our state legislators and Governor Patrick agree that cancer causing chemicals do not belong in baby bubble bath or any other consumer products.”
