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WASHINGTON
— 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 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 a petroleum-derived
contaminant considered a probable human carcinogen by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency and a clear-cut 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 it is a contaminant produced during
manufacturing, the FDA does not require it to be listed as an
ingredient on product labels.
The problem of 1,4-Dioxane contamination in
personal care products is highlighted in a new book, “Safe Trip to
Eden: Ten Steps to Save the Planet Earth from the Global Warming
Meltdown,” by David Steinman. The laboratory results were released
jointly today at the National Press Club by Steinman and the Campaign
for Safe Cosmetics, a coalition of U.S.-based health and environmental
groups working to protect cosmetics consumers from toxic chemicals and
hold companies accountable for the safety of their products.
“Regrettably, 1,4-Dioxane contamination is
just the tip of the iceberg,” said Jeanne Rizzo, R.N., executive
director of the Breast Cancer Fund, a founding member of the Campaign
for Safe Cosmetics. “Because the FDA does not require cosmetics
products to be approved as safe before they are sold, companies can put
unlimited amounts of toxic chemicals in cosmetics.”
Steinman said parents should be outraged
that companies are willing to spend a significant amount of money on
entertainment licensing agreements that entice children but won’t spend
pennies to remove contaminants such as 1,4-Dioxane.
“Consumers who have young children, as I
do, have the right to expect the highest purity in children’s
products,” Steinman said. “I call on American consumers to say no to
dangerous petrochemicals in their children’s cosmetic and personal care
products.”
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.
Devra Lee Davis, professor of epidemiology
and director of the Center for Environmental Oncology at the University
of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, said that the usual regulatory approach
of assessing risk one chemical at a time does not account for the
combined effects of very low levels of hidden contaminants in personal
care products and from other sources. “We must lower exposures to
controllable agents that we know or suspect cause cancer,” she said.
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, however, 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.
More than two dozen products were tested at
Steinman’s request by West Coast Analytical Service, an independent
testing laboratory specializing in trace chemical analysis. Among the
products tested:
Product
Baby & Children’s Consumer Products |
1,4-Dioxane
concentration
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| Disney Clean as Can Bee Hair & Body Wash (Water Jel Technologies) |
8.8 ppm |
| Disney Pixar Cars Piston Cup Bubble Bath (MZB Personal Care) |
2.2 ppm |
| Gerber Grins & Giggles Gentle & Mild Aloe Vera Baby Shampoo |
8.4 ppm |
| Hello Kitty Bubble Bath (Kid Care) |
12 ppm* |
| Huggies Baby Wash Shea Butter |
4.0 ppm |
| Huggies Natural Care Baby Wash Extra Gentle and Tear Free |
4.2 ppm |
| Johnson’s Head-to-Toe Baby Wash (Johnson & Johnson) |
5.3 ppm to 6.1 ppm |
| Johnson’s Kids Tigger Bath Bubbles (Johnson & Johnson) |
5.6 ppm to 7.9 ppm |
| Johnson’s Kids Shampoo Watermelon Explosion (Johnson & Johnson) |
10 ppm* |
| Lil’ Bratz Mild Bubble Bath (Kid Care) |
3.7 ppm |
| L’Oreal Kids Orange Mango Smoothie Shampoo |
2.0 ppm |
| Mr. Bubble Bubble Bath Gentle Formula with Aloe |
1.5 ppm |
| Rite-Aid Tearless Baby Shampoo |
4.3 ppm |
| Scooby-Doo Mild Bubble Bath (Kid Care) |
3.0 ppm |
| Sesame Street Wet Wild Watermelon Bubble Bath (The Village Company) |
7.4 ppm |
|
|
| Adult Consumer Products |
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| Clairol Herbal Essences Rainforest Flowers Shampoo |
23 ppm* |
| Olay Complete Body Wash with Vitamins (normal skin) |
23 ppm* |
| Suave Naturals Passion Flower |
2.0 ppm |
| *Product was at or above FDA maximum |
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Steinman’s book explains what Americans can
do today to be “green patriots” and curb the nation’s dependency on
foreign oil. The new laboratory results reveal the health risks posed
by the same petrochemicals that are part of what he calls the nation’s
growing oil addiction.
Women and girls use an average of 12
personal care products daily, according to a 2004 survey conducted by
the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. The Environmental Working Group's
interactive product safety guide, Skin Deep, allows consumers to find products free of common carcinogenic impurities like 1,4-Dioxane.
# # #
To learn more about “Safe Trip to Eden:
Ten Steps to Save the Planet Earth from the Global Warming Meltdown” by
David Steinman, call Sheila Huettl at (323) 208-2629.
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