Toxic Cancer Causing Carcinogens Found In Childrens Bath Products

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/12/AR20090312029...

More than half the baby shampoo, lotion and other infant care products analyzed by a health advocacy group were found to contain trace amounts of two chemicals that are believed to cause cancer, the organization said yesterday.

Some of the biggest names on the market, including Johnson & Johnson Baby Shampoo and Baby Magic lotion, tested positive for 1,4-dioxane or formaldehyde, or both, the nonprofit Campaign for Safe Cosmetics reported.

The chemicals, which the Environmental Protection Agency has characterized as probable carcinogens, are not intentionally added to the products and are not listed among ingredients on labels. Instead, they appear to be byproducts of the manufacturing process. Formaldehyde is created when other chemicals in the product break down over time, while 1,4-dioxane is formed when foaming agents are combined with ethylene oxide or similar petrochemicals.

The organization tested 48 baby bath products such as bubble bath and shampoo. Of those, 32 contained trace amounts of 1,4-dioxane and 23 contained small amounts of formaldehyde. Seventeen tested positive for both chemicals.

"Our intention is not to alarm parents, but to inform parents that products that claim to be gentle and pure are contaminated with carcinogens, which is completely unnecessary," said Stacy Malkan, a spokeswoman for the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, which is calling for the government to more strictly regulate personal care products such as shampoo, lotion and makeup.

Companies that manufacture and sell the products tested by the group stressed that they comply with government standards.

"The FDA and other government agencies around the world consider these trace levels safe, and all our products meet or exceed the regulatory requirements in every country where they are sold," Johnson & Johnson said in a statement. "We are disappointed that the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has inaccurately characterized the safety of our products, misrepresented the overwhelming consensus of scientists and government agencies that review the safety of ingredients, and unnecessarily alarmed parents."

The European Union has banned 1,4-dioxane as an ingredient in personal care products, but the Food and Drug Administration has not established a safe limit for the chemical in shampoo, lotion and other toiletries. It maintains that the trace amounts found in those products are not harmful.

A 1982 study by the FDA showed that 1,4-dioxane can penetrate human skin when used in lotion.

Health advocates argue, however, that federal regulators have not considered the cumulative effect of chemicals in personal care products.

"The levels we've found are relatively low, and the industry often says there's just a little bit of carcinogen in my product," Malkan said. "The problem is, we're finding a little bit of carcinogen in many products. Many of these products are used every day, so we've got repeated and frequent exposure to these low levels of chemicals. They're not the safest and purest products, and parents ought to know that."

In addition, government studies have not examined the effect of chemical exposure on the particular vulnerabilities of infants and children, whose bodies are still developing, the advocates said.

Several Democratic lawmakers said the report is evidence that the nation's chemical regulation system needs to be changed.

"The fact that we are bathing our kids in products contaminated with carcinogens shows how woefully out of date our cosmetics laws are and how urgently they need to be updated," said Rep. Jan Schakowsky (Ill.). "The science has moved forward; now the FDA needs to catch up and be given the authority to protect the health of Americans."

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.) called the findings "horrifying" and said she intends to introduce legislation that would require stronger oversight of the cosmetics industry.

The report can be found at http://www.safecosmetics.org/toxictub.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• baby
• children
• bath
• products
• cancer
• carcinogens
• toxic
• news
• New York

[charlottecolby]

Actually we CAN shop our way out of this -- the best way to make our voices heard is through our shopping. If no one buys the products then the manufacturer will stop making them!

[skidan4real]

@BryansMommy20101 Have you heard of subtle brain washing? The media itself sells sex to children, these products dont just affect one physically, but also psychologically....Just take a look around you, at all the drones in the streets....(SHEEPLE) Who follow anything & evrything the media tells them...Buy buy buy....Sex sex sex, greed greed greed. We unfortunately live in a careless society & our only concern is how we look & how we can compete with even our friends...So sad. Be blessed

[ColeB83]

Arbonne is the only 100% Natural and certified VEGAN company in the US. If you want to buy healthy products then look into Arbonne. If you want to know more you can contact me. I'm a district manager or Arbonne :) Check my page info.

[TaoPiet]

Beauty industry = Cancer industry

[MovieTributeArtist]

@cooooooool1357986420 sorry moron but your not drinking pure Quaternium-15 when you breating in oxygen or eating your food or drinking water 

[conman2317]

Forever Alone...

[NaturaleGREEN]

20/30 years ago they said smoking was safe and everyone smoked with their kids in the car (unbuckled of course!) Ppl are now asking questions and demanding answers - consumers are not mindless idiots anymore - they are beginning to doubt the "Big Guys"and the gov't agencies designed to protect them. It's not a scare tactic - it's true and admitted by FDA and other agencies. Fragrance ingredients are NOT required to be labelled nor are by-products.These ingredients are often carcinogenic - proven

[912MamaBear]

At one time I thought this was all bunch of hype. But think about it. Growing up did you hear of kids with asthma, allergies, ADD/ADHD or cancer? It was rare to hear of kids with these illnesses.

Did you know the companies that make personal care products, cleaning products, and laundry products are not required to list all of the ingredients? Also, I don't know about you but I'm not familiar with all of the chemical names. The products I use are safe and have been for 55 years.

[NewYorker014]

This is all a bunch of BS!

[Timasion]

The sun is carcinogenic. Coffee has carcinogens. This is a bullshit scare tactic.

[smellsogoody]

Get some organic wheatgrass juice or barley grass juice and get this crap out of you and use heritage products tooth powder to brush your teeth.You have to brush your teeth after drinking wheatgrass juice.