Carcinogenic chemical benzene found in hundreds of US personal care products

[luv2fly]

Carcinogenic chemical benzene found in hundreds of US personal care products
Independent lab found the chemical in more than a quarter of items it tested – sometimes at levels considered ‘life threatening’

Toxic benzene has been found in antiperspirants, shampoos, sunscreens, hand sanitizers, and other products.
Tom Perkins
Fri 18 Mar 2022 04.00 EDT

Independent testing has found hundreds of popular personal care items in the US to be contaminated with benzene, a highly carcinogenic chemical, prompting several big brands to voluntarily recall dozens of products in recent months.

The lab, Valisure, last year detected benzene in hand sanitizers, sunscreens, deodorant, dry shampoos, conditioners, antiperspirants, deodorants, body sprays and anti-fungal treatments. The contamination has been most frequently detected in aerosol or spray products, some at levels the Food and Drug Administration characterized as “life-threatening”.

The findings suggest that benzene contamination is widespread and is probably in more products that have not yet been tested, said David Light, Valisure’s chief executive.

“Benzene really shouldn’t be there at all,” he said. “What we’re seeing is a fundamental problem in the manufacturing of a lot of consumer products.” To date, Valisure has tested 662 items and found the chemical in 180, or about 27%, of products.

More at
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/mar/18/benzene-carcinogenic-chemical-personal-care-products-us

[hlthe2b]

1. Can't really take any comfort from not seeing a product on the list, given they could only test

a sampling of products out there. That said I see that in the Neutrogena line (for example) it appears to be mostly (but not exclusively) the spray products and the lotion "dry-touch."

This isn't new, but it is depressing as hell that such findings have not caused an explosion of regulation/recalls/investigation. Given the widespread use of no-name hand sanitizers during COVID, the inclusion of several on the list is especially disturbing. I recall when Purell and other brand-name products were in such short supply that Walgreens and CVS were joining Walmart in bringing in these highly questionable "generic" substitutes--some of which smelled so horrendous that I would hope that alone might have deterred some use.

[Hugin]

2. Unfortunately, I think some of these off-brands deliberately add benzene...

As a cheap way to give their product a 'chemical' odor. Which people often mistake for a powerful cleaner.

Many of the most effective cleaning agents have little or no smell of their own.

[Hekate]

3. Creepy as hell. KnR

[Lancero]

4. Fun fact for those living anywhere near a gas station. This is what gives gas its delightful smell.

As toxic of a chemical as it is, you'd think we'd care more about cutting back on the amount that gets out into the environment. But nope, we love that shit.

Breathe deeply folks.

[FailureToCommunicate]

10. I forget what year, but EPA required stations to install vapor capture on all nozzles.

1994 or there about.

Now the vapor recovery system is in the car itself somehow.

https://www.autoblog.com/2011/07/12/epa-says-outdated-gas-vapor-recovery-nozzles-no-longer-required/

[OldBaldy1701E]

5. A corporation has been using dangerous chemicals in their products

In order to make their costs cheaper and their profit margin go up? I am shocked I tell you!

[live love laugh]

16. ✓

[machoneman]

6. Bad indeed but....I'm wary until I see the % of this chemical found in these products.

We live in an age where a number of various chemicals can be detected in a host of products. You know that new car smell? That new carpet smell? These and other examples are of chemicals outgassing from the item, and not necessarily good for your health.

Trace amounts of harmful stuff can and is found in many products, foodstuffs, drinks and more. But, most not rise to a level of harm to us humans. Eliminating the .0001% of say trace benzene in all personal care products is going to be extremely expensive. Either accept a tiny level of contamination as the 'cost' of using said product or don't use them at all.

[multigraincracker]

7. When I hired in at the auto factory in 1972

I worked in the paint department. At the end of the shift, we use to wash our hands off with paint thinner. When I retired in 2002, there were big signs on all of that paint thinner with hazmat warnings to not get it on your skin because of the Benzene.
I only worked in that department for a few months. By the time I left there had been an unusual number of testicular cancer cases from the paint shop. Who knows what caused them.

[Evolve Dammit]

8. pre-OSHA. Nothing was regulated. And everyone smoked. Surprised I'm still here

[Ferrets are Cool]

9. How long before Morgan and Morgan has a commercial running...

[Fla Dem]

11. If it was BANNED 45 years ago, how is it still being used legally today?

The US banned benzene’s use as an ingredient nearly 45 years ago, and it is “somewhat unique in that it’s pretty well established to be incredibly toxic – that’s been known for decades to over a century,” said David Andrews, senior scientist at the public health advocate Environmental Working Group.

Why isn't every one of these companies still using benzene severely fined or sued out of existence by the FDA?

[BumRushDaShow]

15. "If it was BANNED 45 years ago, how is it still being used legally today?"

It can be a byproduct of a manufacturing process since the structure itself makes up the backbone of many organic compounds/solvents. The issue would be making sure to minimize it as a waste component and remove it (as much as possible) from the finished product.




An old common drug used for cough suppression for flu, etc., symptoms is benzonatate (for adult use only) -








Similarly you have benzocaine (used in products like Orajel) -

[Fla Dem]

18. OK, I was a terrible chemistry student 50 years ago, but what I get from your excellent reply is....

Benzene is produced through the chemical process of making other products, therefore it cannot be totally removed.

The only solution therefore would be to ban all products which produce Benzene during production and are present in the consumer product.

Seems to me we can do without these carcinogenic personal products more than we need them.

[BumRushDaShow]

19. I am (or was since I am retired) an ACS-certified chemist

The issue is "tolerance levels" - just like lead. There are some who want ZERO presence (of either) and others who say that a tiny, tiny, tiny amount will not have any appreciable negative health impact, the caveat being that as technology becomes more advanced, instruments today can detect literal minuscule amounts of substances that were previously undetectable. I.e., it may be difficult to get to "zero".

So this will always be an issue. There are many toxic elements/substances (like arsenic for example) that are naturally occurring in the environment and the aim is to reduce direct contact (and more specifically, extended contact without protection) to these types of things as much as possible. There are a number of companies that sell "alternatives" made from plants or certain minerals to use for personal care.

[Fla Dem]

20. I knew you were a smartie! Thanks again for a great explanation.

[BumRushDaShow]

21. ...

(I know that's corny )

[NNadir]

12. From a purely analytical chemistry perspective this claim may be misleading.

With advances in mass spectrometry in particular, but including many other techniques the limits of detection can be extremely low. In our lab we can routinely determine concentrations at picogram levels.

The question of risk involves quantification.

The largest exposure to benzene, by far, is associated with pumping gas.

I suspect this report is not even close to being serious.

[PatrickforB]

13. The fruits of deregulation combined with the doctrine of Shareholder Primacy,

which we know colloquially as 'profits over people'.

This type of corporate malfeasance happens every day. Because they are out for shareholder profits at the expense of everything else - the workers, the consumers, the communities in which they are located, and the environment itself.

Yep. Good 'ol unrestricted capitalism!

[SheltieLover]

14. Kicking for visibility