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Record-Journal (Meriden, CT)
February 15, 2007, Page A01
by Jeffery Kurz, Record-Journal staff
Coalition warns of dangerous chemical in children's cosmetics
MERIDEN - The products' names are cuddly enough - such as Huggies Natural Care Baby Wash Gentle and Tear Free, or Johnson's Tigger Bath Bubbles - but they're now the focus of a toxic debate.
A new Connecticut health coalition is warning consumers that the products contain a potentially cancer-causing chemical. The coalition is calling for tighter government regulation of products marketed for children and for the cosmetics industry.
An association that represents the cosmetics industry says this is a gross overreaction that needlessly frightens consumers.
"I don't think it's justified by the science or any of the safety concerns in the cosmetics industry," said John Bailey, executive vice president for science at the Cosmetics, Toiletry & Fragrance Association, an industry trade group. "These are exceptionally safe products," he said. "They're taking data grossly out of context."
The Coalition for a Safe & Healthy Connecticut, made up of a dozen health, labor, environmental and consumer organizations that include the Meriden-based Connecticut Nurses' Association, recently released a list of products containing 1,4-dioxane, a petrochemical that causes cancer in animals and is listed as a probable human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Recent testing by a Santa Fe Springs laboratory, commissioned by the author of a book on the environment, showed 18 products with traces of the chemical.
Though the Connecticut coalition says three products had levels above the amount recommended by the Food and Drug Administration - 10 parts per million - an FDA spokesman said Wednesday the federal agency has no specific limits for cosmetics products.
The chemical is present in shampoo, baby bath and cosmetic products as an unintentional result of the manufacturing process and could be eliminated at either the beginning or end of that process, said Cindy Luppi, a coalition spokeswoman and program director of Clean Water Action.
The FDA does not have the before-market regulatory authority over cosmetics as it does pharmaceuticals. The agency regulates the cosmetics industry through after-market surveillance, which includes inspection of manufacturing operations.
The FDA has been monitoring the levels of 1,4-dioxane in cosmetics products since the 1970s and in that time has seen a decline in the levels of the contaminant, says a general FDA statement on the chemical, which attributed the decline to changes in the manufacturing process. FDA testing has shown that the chemical evaporates so quickly the amount that could be absorbed through the skin is extremely low.
But the state coalition wants more vigorous oversight. "We can't expect parents, or consumers, to be toxicologists," Luppi said. "There needs to be better regulation."
The coalition is supporting a number of environmentally oriented bills this legislative session, including one that encourages Connecticut businesses to shed the use of toxic chemicals for less-threatening alternatives. International competitiveness is part of the initiative, designed to put Connecticut more in line with stricter European Union standards, said Luppi.
Bailey, the scientist with the cosmetics industry trade group, said 1,4-dioxane levels in cosmetics products were well below the levels set by the only state he knew that had passed similar legislation, California.
The Meriden-based nurses' association views Connecticut's coalition as an opportunity to expand efforts in preventive health care, said Polly T. Barey, the association's executive director. "Nurses are trusted," she said. "And part of our obligation is public health and prevention as much as it is has been for patients once they have problems."
Part of that is warning consumers about the toxins in the products they buy, said the association's Mary Jane Williams, a registered nurse and professor of nursing. "I don't think we want to scare people, but we want to raise awareness," said Williams, a Southington resident.
"They're not cause-and-effect," Williams said of 1,4-dioxane in shampoos and similar products. "But they're known carcinogens in animals. Why would we give them to our kids?"
"On this one, nobody is watching the store," Luppi said.
About 500 companies have voluntarily signed a safety pledge, she said, though the major corporate giants have not. The pledge means a commitment to phase out the use of certain chemicals and replace them with safer alternatives. A list of those companies can be found online at www.safecosmetics.org. "This isn't something that can't be solved at the grocery store," Luppi said. "People deserve and expect to have updated safety standards. Government needs to update these safety standards and responsible companies can help lead the way."
jkurz@record-journal.com (203) 317-2213
Caption:Photo illustration by Chris Angileri /Record-Journal Some of the
cosmetics that a coalition says contains a containing cancer-causing
ingredient.
Record-Journal
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