New Haven Register
02/09/2007
Kids soaps contain traces of carcinogen Abram Katz , Register Science Editor
American parents are unknowingly bathing their children in soaps and shampoos that contain traces of a probable cancer-causing chemical, according to tests commissioned by a coalition of Connecticut environmental groups.
Fifteen of 24 childrens bath products tested revealed small amounts of 1,4-dioxane, a compound the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency determined was a "probable human carcinogen" in 1995.
Johnson & Johnson, one of the worlds largest manufacturers of baby products, said the levels of 1,4-dioxane are too low to pose a health risk.
However, Cindy Luppi, spokeswoman for the Coalition for a Safe & Healthy Connecticut, said even small amounts of a carcinogen are worrisome and that manufacturers apparently could remove the contaminant at a fairly low expense.
"I’ts a preventable exposure to a carcinogen, an unnecessary threat to health," Luppi said.
"Most parents don’t like the idea of any amount of known or suspected carcinogen in any product used by their children," she said.
While an analysis by University of Massachusetts researchers suggests that the incidence of childhood cancers has increased 21 percent since 1975, there is no way to link any trace chemical to the trend, she said.
Dr. Carl Baum, director of the Center for Childrens Environmental Toxicology at the Yale School of Medicine, said assessing the risk posed by exposure to low levels of a potential carcinogen is difficult.
Studies showed that 1,4-dioxane caused nasal squamous cell carcinoma and liver cancer in rats and mice, but there have been no studies of people.
Baum said women exposed to 1,4-dioxane passed the chemical in breast milk, in amounts that are about the EPA standard for drinking water.
"You often don’t have a definitive way to measure these things. It might be years before we see any effect. There’s not enough data, but I would bet there are more significant threats that you can do something about," he said, including radon gas and secondhand cigarette smoke.
Products were tested by West Coast Analytical Service of Santa Fe, Calif., an independent laboratory used by the pharmaceutical, food supplement and environmental industries.
Johnsons Kids Shampoo Watermelon Explosion had 10 parts per million, and Johnsons Head-to-Toe Baby Wash had 5.3 to 6.1 parts per million of the chemical.
Iris Grossman, director of communications for Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies Inc., in Skillman, N.J., said 1,4-dioxane is present in such low amounts in its baby care products that it is not a safety concern.
"All of our products are extensively tested and are well within FDA guidelines," she said. "1,4-dioxane results from the manufacturing process. We do not add it deliberately. At these levels, it is so low that it is not a danger."
Grossman said the company has not calculated the cost of removing 1,4-dioxane from its products. "We believe our products are safe," she said.
Kimberly-Clark, which makes Huggies Baby Wash Shea Butter and Huggies Natural Care Baby Wash Extra Gentle and Tear Free, both of which have about 4 parts per million 1,4-dioxane, did not comment on the issue Thursday.
While the EPA regulates 1,4-dioxane, which has been used as a solvent in paints, varnish, adhesives and other products, the federal Food and Drug Administration governs cosmetics, such as soap.
The FDA issued voluntary 1,4-dioxane safety levels in 2000. The FDA recommended that cosmetics contain no more than 10 parts per million of dioxane.
Stacy Malkan, communications director for Health Care Without Harm in Berkeley, Calif., said 1,4-dioxane is a byproduct generated during the manufacture of soaps and shampoos.
Since 1,4-dioxane has a low boiling point, manufacturers could readily remove it from their products through a vacuum extraction process, she said.
New Haven Register 2007
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