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Study: Some Green Products Emit Toxins
Cleanlink News November 1 2010

According to research from the University of Washington, some popular scented consumer products that claim to be "green," "organic" or "natural" actually emit just as many toxic chemicals as other fragranced products. The study analyzed 25 scented products; about half carried green health claims. All the products emitted at least one chemical classified as toxic or hazardous, say Chicago Tribune reports.

The research, published in the journal Environmental Impact Assessment Review, indicates that more than a third of the samples gave off one chemical classified as a probable carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA has set no safe exposure level for possible carcinogens.

Overall, the products tested emitted more than 420 chemicals, but virtually none were disclosed to consumers, said the study's lead author, Anne Steinemann, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Washington. A single "fragrance" in a product can be a mixture of up to several hundred ingredients. But since manufacturers are not required to disclose all ingredients in cosmetics, cleaning supplies, air fresheners or laundry products, the majority of the chemicals are not listed on the labels.

The most common emissions the researchers found included limonene, a compound with a citrus scent; apha-pinene and beta-pinene, compounds with a pine scent; ethanol; and acetone, a solvent found in nail polish remover.

Brand names were not included in the data to avoid leaving the impression that products other than the ones reported in the study were safer. "We found potentially hazardous chemicals in all of the fragranced products we tested," said Steinemann.

While the study confirmed the ubiquitous presence of the chemicals, it doesn't look at whether the products are safe to use. Studies conducted by the Research Institute for Fragrance Materials maintain that the ingredients are safe. But previous research by Steinemann and a colleague showed that nearly 38 percent of Americans report adverse effects when exposed to some kind of fragranced products. Among asthmatics, such complaints were roughly twice as common.

The Household Product Labeling Act, currently being reviewed by the U.S. Senate, would require manufacturers to list ingredients in air fresheners, soaps, laundry supplies and other consumer products. Steinemann cautioned that products called "fragrance-free" and "unscented" are not necessarily non-toxic. The chemicals identified in the study could have been part of the added fragrance, the product base, or both; product formulations are confidential so the researchers had no way of discerning the source. Moreover, even if a product doesn't have a scent, it could still contain chemicals that are classified as toxic.