Health advocates warn of dangers in baby shampoos

BOSTON – Formaldehyde and other potentially toxic chemicals found in baby shampoos and bath products could be putting children at risk, according to a coalition of public health advocacy groups which launched an awareness campaign Thursday.The Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow – which includes the Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition, Clean Water Action and the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics – asserted that “despite claims like ‘gentle’ and ‘pure,’ dozens of top-selling children’s bath products are contaminated with the cancer-causing chemicals formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane.”A new report, released Thursday by the coalition, calls for a Safer Alternatives Bill aimed at removing toxic products from the marketplace. In many cases, chemicals are not disclosed on product labels because contaminants are exempt from U.S. labeling laws.Other nations have stricter standards. Formaldehyde is banned from personal care products in Japan and Sweden. The European Union bans 1,4-dioxane from personal care products and has recalled products found to contain the chemical.Many products tested by the campaign, including baby shampoo, bubble bath and baby lotion, contained both formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane. Parents often use several of these products on a child during a bath.While the baby products industry might argue that levels of contaminants found in individual products are relatively low, the reality is that children often receive multiple chemical exposures from combinations of products and other sources in their environment, according to Elizabeth Saunders, legislative director for Boston-based Clean Water Action.”Formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane are better suited for the chem lab, not a child’s bathtub,” said U.S. Rep. Edward Markey, a Malden Democrat. “This important report shows that ‘No More Tears’ can trigger toxic fears and it provides another reason why these and other cosmetic products must be further regulated.”The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics commissioned an independent laboratory to test 48 products for 1,4-dioxane; 28 of those products were also tested for formaldehyde. The lab found that 17 of 28 products tested (61 percent) contained both formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane. These products included Johnson’s Baby Shampoo, Sesame Street Bubble Bath, Grins & Giggles Milk & Honey Baby Wash and Huggies Naturally Refreshing Cucumber & Green Tea Baby Wash.The tests also found that 23 of 28 products (82 percent) contained formaldehyde at levels ranging from 79 parts per million (ppm) to 610 ppm. Baby Magic Baby Lotion had the highest levels of formaldehyde. Further, 32 of 48 products (67 percent) contained 1,4-dioxane at levels ranging from 0.27 ppm to 35 ppm. American Girl shower products had the highest levels of 1,4-dioxane.Erin Boles, associate executive director of the Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition, said carcinogens in baby products are unacceptable. “This is only the tip of the iceberg. The lack of appropriate regulation allows unlimited amounts of contaminants and toxic chemicals to be used in consumer products without oversight,” she said. “Children, men and women are getting sick every day, unnecessarily.”Formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane are known to cause cancer in animals and are listed as probable human carcinogens by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Formaldehyde can also trigger skin rashes in some children. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says that the presence of 1,4-dioxane, even as a trace contaminant, is cause for concern.”The reality of today’s world is that we, humans, have contaminated our environment and poisoned ourselves. Not intentionally, but due to our industrial ingenuity, our carelessness, and our unwillingness to study and regulate what we expose ourselves and our environment to,” said Dr. Sean Palfrey, a pediatrician at Boston Medical Center and former president of the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. “Don’t say to me that this level of toxin is too small to matter.