Friday, March 20, 2009

Formaldehyde and 1,4 Dioxane In Baby and Child Products Warrants More Intelligent Consumer Practices


It is simply no longer safe to assume baby or child products are safe. Parents need to be informed consumers. From the site that warned about child cold medicine (LINK), we now turn to other potential hazards. Last week it was revealed that dozens of popular children's bath products may contain two cancer-causing chemicals according to The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. The organization paid for a study to test 48 top-selling children's products for 1,4-dioxane and 28 of them for formaldehyde.


Formaldehyde is a by-product of a preservative added to the products to prevent bacteria growth and extend their shelf-life. 1,4-dioxane is a foaming agent in some products.
Twenty-three of 28 products tested contained formaldehyde. 17 of those products contained both formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane. According to the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics report,
Johnson's Baby Shampoo, L'Oreal Kids Extra Gentle 2-in-1 shampoo and Pampers Kandoo foaming hand soap contained one or more of what some percieve to be hazardous ingredients.


The US National Cancer Institute has shared studies involving workers exposed to formaldehyde. The studies link formaldeyde to cancers of the nasal sinuses, nasopharynx, brain and possibly leukemia. (Keep in mind, the amount of exposure to formaldeyde may be a critical factor in any correlation.)


Sixty Seven percent of the 48 products tested contained 1,4-dioxane. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission claims that even trace amounts of 1,4-dioxane give "cause for concern." Similarly, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Health and Human Services have both identified dioxane as causing cancer in animals and as a "probable human carcinogen."


THE DISSENT: The Personal Care Products Council dismissed recent study as being "patently false." They considered the amount of the two chemicals found in the products are considered to be 'trace' (extremely low). They conclude that the amount of the chemicals are well below established safety thresholds and therefore are not a cause for concern. The trace amount of chemicals may actually serve the purpose of ensuring that the products are safe and gentle but still prevent bacterial growth.


THE REBUTTAL: While the amount of these chemical is below current threshold limits, perhaps the threshold is too high when it comes to children. Children are arguably more vulnerable to the toxic chemicals.

GOVERNMENT'S POSITION: Formaldhyde and 1,4 dioxane are for the most part unregulated in the United States. 1,4-dioxane is banned in Europe. Europe places some restrictions on formaldehyde but it is not by any means banned.

BOTTOM LINE: Be a smart consumer. Don't panic just because your child has used products containing these substances. However, look to make future purchases of products that are formaldhyde and 1,4 dioxane free. This will force outstanding companies, like Johnson and Johnson to manufacture products without these chemicals. Better safe then sorry.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you. Shortly after Legal Pub discussed children's cold medicine, I noticed that consumers got smart. So did stores. Now it is rare to see any child cold remedies for sale due to potential safety issues.

Thanks for making us think as consumers.

Brenda

Legal Pub said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Legal Pub said...

In the interest of disclosure, I own a few shares of Johnson and Johnson. I do feel that the threat may be minimal as the amounts appear to be truly "trace" in most of these products. But to be on the safe side, I will personally be shopping for products that are free of these ingredients for my children.

Anonymous said...

Me too!

Anonymous said...

Kids are too precious to risk injuring...

Ms Calabaza said...

Great post LP. I had no idea...

Brooklyn said...

That baby is adorable:]

JOe. E. said...

Da Kid is a keeper. I agree with da Brooklyn

Anonymous said...

Better to error on the side of safety and keep our kids safe.

Concerned Mom said...

Can't be too careful when it comes to our babies.

TOX TALK said...

The amount of dioxane in shampoo and other cosmetic type products is so low that it does not pose a risk to health of babies or adults. Dioxane is not genotoxic so it does have a threshold for a no-effect level.