Carcinogenic toxin found in hundreds of personal care products in the US

Independent testing has found that hundreds of popular personal care products in the US are contaminated with benzene, a carcinogenic chemical, prompting several major brands to voluntarily recall dozens of products in recent months. Read more about this publication The Guardian.

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Valisure Lab last year found benzene in hand sanitizers, sunscreens, deodorants, dry shampoos, conditioners, antiperspirants, deodorants, body sprays and antifungals.

Contamination was most commonly found in aerosols or spray products, some of which were at levels that the US Food and Drug Administration (US) has described as "life-threatening".

The findings suggest that benzene contamination is widespread and likely found in more products that have not yet been tested, said David Light, chief executive of Valisure.

“Benzene shouldn’t be there at all,” he said. "What we're seeing is a fundamental problem in the manufacturing of many consumer products."

To date, Valisure has tested 662 products and found the chemical in 180, or about 27% of the products.

Procter & Gamble, Bayer, CVS and Johnson & Johnson have announced voluntary recalls of widely used brands including Brut, Sure, Pantene, Herbal Essences, Old Spice, Secret, Tinactin, Lotrimin, Coppertone, Neutrogena and Aveeno. Hand sanitizer brands recalled include Art Naturals, Best Brands and Natural Wunderz.

Light pointed to "decades of research" that found no safe levels of exposure to benzene because it is highly toxic even at very low levels.

Oil-based chemical causes cancer. The toxin has also been found to harm the central nervous system and reproductive organs.

The US banned the use of benzene as an ingredient almost 45 years ago, said David Andrews, senior scientist at the Environmental Health Advocates Task Force.

Advocates have targeted the FDA for not doing more to protect the public. In a December statement, the agency said it was investigating the situation, conducting its own testing, and urging companies to recall contaminated products.

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While the agency does not have the authority to issue recall orders and may be limited in its premarket authority to require testing, proponents are urging the FDA to clarify the existing benzene limit, establish new exposure limits, and conduct more testing on store shelves to make sure they are safe instead of to leave it up to independent labs. According to Light, the FDA system "really lacks independent review" because it relies on companies to report their problems themselves.

Federal regulations allow the use of benzene in the manufacture of personal care products, and this can result in it being found in products even if it is not listed as an ingredient. Benzene can be added in emergency situations, such as a pandemic, or if it provides "significant therapeutic" benefits. In such scenarios, the FDA limit is two parts per million, but there are products that did not provide a therapeutic benefit, they were found with levels up to 21 parts per million.

The FDA said in a statement that the agency "continues to monitor the issue" and is working with companies to recall contaminated products. Although the agency does not have exposure limits, it informs companies that "solvents such as benzene should not be used in the manufacture of drugs, excipients or pharmaceuticals due to their unacceptable toxicity."

Some companies have capitalized on confusing rules and gaps to play down the problem. Johnson & Johnson, which recalled sunscreens in July, said that "daily exposure to benzene in these aerosol sunscreen products at the levels found in our testing will not cause adverse health effects."

The company's statement was posted by the FDA on its website, although agency scientists found in analysis that benzene-contaminated sunscreen does pose a "life-threatening risk."

How benzene gets into foods remains a mystery in some cases. The companies say they don't add it to their formulas, and the FDA has suggested that it is likely found in contaminated thickeners, preservatives, aerosol propellant, or ethanol.

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In many cases, Valisure has found that one batch of product contains benzene while another does not. This highlights the complexities and lack of control in the global supply chains that make personal care products. According to Light, a propellant like butane, which is refined at a very early stage in the manufacturing process, "touches dozens of different hands" along the way.

Valisure finds benzene most commonly in body sprays, including deodorants and antiperspirants, with nearly half of 108 products from 30 different brands. The highest levels were found in Sure, Old Spice, Secret, Equate, Right Guard, Tag and Brut.

Valisure tested about 300 sunscreens or after-sun products and found detectable levels in 77, or about 27%, of the samples. Among those with the highest levels were Neutrogena, CVS, Sun Bum, Raw Elements, and Banana Boat. While spray sunscreen has been found to be the most contaminated, the chemical has also been found in lotions and gels.

Valisure's analysis of hand sanitizer found the highest levels of benzene in smaller brands that have emerged as demand for the product has grown.

Of the 260 samples of 168 brands sold on Amazon, pharmacies and retail stores like Target, 44, or about 17%, had detectable levels of benzene. Well-known brands such as Purell and Suave did not contain this chemical.

In a December statement, TPC Hot Acquisition, which owns Brut and Sure, wrote: “To date, there have been no reports of side effects associated with this recall. This voluntary recall is being carried out as a precautionary measure.”

However, it is nearly impossible to legally prove that one particular chemical caused the disease, and Andrews noted that benzene has a latency period of 10 to 15 years. “The delay time between exposure and cancer can be a long period of time,” he noted.

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