Women use more than 160 chemicals each day, group warns

Authorities should review five chemicals commonly used in
personal care products, two senators say.

American women put an average of 168 chemicals on their bodies each day, according to a nonprofit group, but two senators say federal regulations on personal care products have barely changed since the 1930s.

Senators Dianne Feinstein, D-California, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, introduced an amendment to the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act that would give the Food and Drug Administration more power and oversight to regulate the chemicals men and women slather on their bodies every day.

They're calling it the Personal Care Products Safety Act.

"From shampoo to lotion, the use of personal care products is widespread, however, there are very few protections in place to ensure their safety," Feinstein said in a statement.

The 98-page bill includes a system of registering personal care companies, their products and their ingredients, and it would require the FDA to review five chemicals that appear generally in personal care products each year to evaluate their safety.

The first set of chemicals will likely be diazolidinyl urea, lead acetate, methylene glycol/formaldehyde, propyl paraben, quaternium-15, according to Feinstein’s office.

The senators worked with the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit consumer health advocacy group that started the Skin Deep database about a decade ago.

Personal care products are not
regulated to ensure safety: Experts

The Skin Deep database allows consumers to look up personal care products to learn what chemicals they contain, and whether those chemicals are associated with any health risks.

"These are basic tools that should have been granted to the FDA decades ago, but are only now being provided in the Feinstein-Collins bill," said Scott Faber, Environmental Working Group's vice president of government affairs.

"Cosmetics are sort of the last unregulated area of consumer products law. I can't overstate how little law is now on the books. The FDA virtually has no power to regulate the products we use everyday."

According to the Environmental Working Group, women use an average of 12 products a day, containing 168 different chemicals.

Men use fewer products, but still put 85 chemicals on their bodies. Teens on average use 17 personal care products a day, according to the group, which tested 20 teens' blood and urine seven years ago to find out which chemicals from these products were ending up in their bodies.

They said they found 16 hormone-altering chemicals, including parabens and phthalates.

"Many if not most of these chemicals are probably safe," Faber said. "We can't know for sure because they haven't been subject to any kind of review by a third party."

Faber said attempts to give the FDA more authority over cosmetics date back to the Eisenhower administration, but they were unsuccessful.

This time, industry leaders including Johnson and Johnson, Revlon and Personal Care Products Council, the industry trade group, have come out to say they support the bill.

"While we believe our products are the safest category that FDA regulates, we also believe well-crafted, science-based reforms will enhance industry's ability to innovate and further strengthen consumer confidence in the products they trust and use every day," the Personal Care Products Council said in a statement.

"The current patchwork regulatory approach with varying state bills does not achieve this goal."

The FDA said it cannot comment on proposed legislation.

Source: ABC News

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Researchers say personal care products expose kids to harmful parabens

Researchers are warning that lotions, shampoos and other personal care products (PCPs), are likely exposing infants and toddlers to potentially harmful substances, called parabens, at an even higher level than adult women.

Parabens have been linked to reproductive and other health issues and are used in a wide range of products, from medical devices to children's toys, as well as personal care products.

Most people are exposed to them every day — for example, data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that more than 90 percent of the population is exposed to these substances. The body breaks them down quickly, but both have been detected in urine, breast milk and blood. Research has suggested a link between these substances and health issues in animals and people, such as sperm damage, breast cancer and an increased risk for asthma.

For their study researchers, Kurunthachalam Kannan and Ying Guo collected 170 samples of makeup, lotions, shampoos and other products, including 20 items for babies, and tested them for nine phthalates and six parabens. Both substances were found in the PCPs. In baby products, phthalate concentrations were low, but parabens were common. When the researchers calculated possible exposure levels, they estimated that the potential daily skin exposure to parabens by infants and toddlers could be as much as two to three times higher than that for adult women.

They published their findings in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology.

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All about fragrance: Are unscented products safer?

Many household and personal care
products contain harmful chemicals.

“Fragrance” is a common ingredient in household and personal care products, and manufacturers use the term to describe any combination of natural and synthetic chemicals that they may use.

They don’t have to reveal the exact chemical make-up of these fragrances because the information is regarded as a highly guarded trade secret.

But many commonly used chemicals have been linked to human health effects, so not knowing what is in a product leaves customers unaware about the chemicals and possible toxins they may be exposed to.

Tests have shown that the average fragrance product contains 14 secret chemicals that did not have to be listed on the label. Some components of fragrances, including phthalates and DEP are known hormone disruptors; others can cause reactions in sensitized people.

People suffering from asthma seem to be especially sensitive to fragrance-containing products.

The first reaction may be to opt for fragrance-free products – but are those really safer? The jury is still out. In many cases, fragrance-free does not mean safer because of a number of factors:

• There is no legal definition for fragrance-free
• Some chemicals in the products may be used to mask scents
• Many of these products still contain chemicals that pose health risks

Still, checking for product safety on websites such as the Skin Deep database and generally checking the product’s ingredient list will help make better and more informed decisions.

Using less fragrance-containing products will also help reduce exposure.

Source: Healthy Child Organization

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Chemical exposure: Why your leftover lotions can be considered hazardous waste

Some personal care products may not belong into
the garbage disposal, experts say.

The next time your body lotion dispenser feels like it’s getting low, think twice before throwing it into the garbage.

Depending on where you live, personal care products with cosmetic content can be considered hazardous waste and should be disposed of properly.

Most people know that personal care products like nail polish, nail polish remover, hairspray and hair dye belong to this category because of the volatile organic compounds they contain and emit.

Among the VOCs that can be hazardous to human health are acetone, toluene, formaldehyde and ammonia.

But even seemingly harmless body lotion leftovers, sunscreen, hair conditioner, cleansers, scrubs and other products may fall into that category and may have to be taken waste depots or recycling centers – along with those collections of old batteries, paint cans, solvents, medications, pesticides and other materials).

The reasoning given is that many of these personal care products are classified as liquid that does not belong into the solid waste garbage disposal destined for landfills, since it could seep into the groundwater.

Empty containers can and should be recycled, of course.

For the best ways to dispose of leftover cosmetics in your region, please call the local authorities.

Source: YourHome.ca

Take care of your indoor air

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