A University of
Washington study of top-selling laundry products and air fresheners found the products emitted dozens of
different chemicals. All six products tested gave off at
least one chemical regulated as toxic or hazardous under
federal laws, but none of those chemicals was listed on the product labels.
Researchers
found that all top-selling laundry products and air
fresheners tested gave off at least one chemical regulated
as toxic or hazardous under federal laws, but none of those
chemicals was listed on the product labels.
"I first got
interested in this topic because people were telling me that
the air fresheners in public restrooms and the scent from
laundry products vented outdoors were making them sick,"
said Anne Steinemann, a UW professor of civil and environmental engineering and of
public affairs. "I wanted to know, What's in these products
that are causing these effects?"
She analyzed the products to discover the chemicals'
identity. The potential toxicity of the chemicals that
were found, included acetone, the active ingredient in
paint thinner and nail-polish remover; limonene, a molecule
with a citrus scent; and acetaldehyde,
chloromethane and 1,4-dioxane.
Nearly 100
volatile organic compounds were emitted from these six
products, and none were listed on any product
label. Plus, five of the six products emitted one or more
carcinogenic hazardous air pollutants, which are considered
by the Environmental Protection Agency to have no safe
exposure level.
Her study was
published online July23 by the journal Environmental Impact
Assessment Review. Steinemann chose not to disclose the
brand names of the six products she
tested. In a larger study of 25 cleaners, personal care
products, air fresheners and laundry products, now
submitted for publication, she found that many other brands contained similar chemicals.
Because
manufacturers of consumer products are not required to
disclose the ingredients, Steinemann analyzed the products
to discover their contents. She studied three common air
fresheners (a solid deodorizer disk, a liquid spray and a plug-in oil) and three laundry products (a dryer sheet,
fabric softener and a detergent), selecting a
top seller in each category. She bought house hold items at a grocery store and asked companies for samples of
industrial products.
In the
laboratory, each product was placed in an isolated space at
room temperature and the surrounding air was analyzed for
volatile organic compounds, small molecules that evaporate
from the product's surface into the air.
Results showed
58 different volatile organic compounds above a
concentration of 300 micrograms per
cubic meter, many of which were present in more than
one of the six products. For instance, a plug-in air
freshener contained more than 20 different volatile organic
compounds. Of these, seven are regulated as toxic or hazardous under federal laws. The product label lists no
ingredients, and information on the Material Safety Data
Sheet, required for workplace handling of
chemicals, lists the contents as mixture of perfume oils.
This study does
not address links between exposure to chemicals and health
effects. However, two national surveys published by
Steinemann and a colleague in 2004 and 2005 found that
about 20 percent of the population reported adverse health
effects from air fresheners, and about 10 percent complained
of adverse effects from laundry products vented to the
outdoors. Among asthmatics such complaints were roughly
twice as common.
Manufacturers
are not required to list the ingredients used in laundry
products and air fresheners. Personal-care
products and cleaners often contain
similar fragrance chemicals, Steinemann said. And although
cosmetics are required by the Food and
Drug Administration to list ingredients, no law
requires products of any kind to
list chemicals used in fragrances.
Fragrance
chemicals are of particular interest because of the
potential for involuntary exposure, or second-hand scents" Steinemann said.
"Be careful if
you buy products with fragrance, because you really don't
know what's in them," she added. "I'd like to see better
labeling. In the meantime, I'd recommend that instead of air
fresheners people use ventilation, and with laundry
products, choose fragrance-free versions."
The European
Union recently enacted legislation requiring products to
list 26 fragrance chemicals when they are present above a
certain concentration in cosmetic products and detergents.
No similar laws exist in the United States.
