WASHINGTON, Mar 13, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Dozens of top-selling children's
bath products are contaminated with trace amounts of cancer-causing chemicals, a
U.S. health advocacy group says.
Officials of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics says it commissioned an independent
laboratory to test 48 children's bath products that documented the widespread
presence of both formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane.
The chemicals were not disclosed on product labels because contaminants are
exempt from labeling laws, officials of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics said.
The findings also include:
-- 61 percent of products contained both formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane.
-- 82 percent contained formaldehyde at levels from 54 parts per million to 610
ppm.
-- 67 percent contained 1,4-dioxane at levels from 0.27 ppm to 35 ppm.
No regulatory standards limit formaldehyde or 1,4-dioxane in personal care
products sold in the United States, but formaldehyde is banned from personal
care products in Japan and Sweden, while the European Union bans 1,4-dioxane
from personal care products and has recalled products found to contain the
chemical, campaign officials said.
Johnson & Johnson was asked to comment on findings.
"The trace levels of certain compounds found by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics
can result from processes that make our products gentle for babies and safe from
bacteria growth," the company said in a statement to WTEN-TV in Albany, N.Y.
"The Food and Drug Administration and other government agencies around the world
consider these trace levels safe."
URL: www.upi.com
Copyright 2009 by United Press International