The reason: The products contained high amounts of benzene, a chemical known to cause cancer and compromise our immune system.
It’s not clear how widespread the problem is, and the major companies involved have declined to answer questions or provide additional details. The affected aerosol products include some of the world’s biggest brand names, including a number of Neutrogena, Aveeno, Banana Boat and Coppertone sunscreens; Deodorant Sure, Brut, Suave, Secret and Old Spice; Dove, Nexxus, Suave, TRESemmé and Bed Head dry shampoos, as well as Tinectin and Odor Eaters foot spray.
On Tuesday, the news got worse. Valisure, an independent lab in New Haven, Conn., published a new analysis testing 148 batches of dry shampoo products from 34 different brands and found that 70 percent contained gasoline. The highest benzene level detected was 340 parts per million in 10 seconds of spraying. By comparison, the Food and Drug Administration has said the acceptable level of benzene in a drug is two parts per million.
A problem with the driver
The problem seems to be mostly related to the butane engine propellants that create pressure inside an aerosol can, which ultimately allows us to spray a fine mist of product when we depress the nozzle. Butane is a petroleum-based fuel, and if it’s not refined well, there’s a chance the final product will contain traces of benzene, said Chris Cappa, a professor of environmental engineering at the University of California, Davis.
“Aerosol sprays appear to be one of the highest-risk categories for benzene contamination in consumer products,” said David Light, chief executive of Valisure, which also warned in May 2021 about benzene contamination in sunscreen products. “We don’t want to scare people into never using an aerosol can again, but it’s a real risk.”
In a statement announcing the recall of various dry shampoo products in October, Unilever said the company confirmed the trigger “as the source” of the benzene contamination. Johnson & Johnson also said the contamination was linked to the propellant and said it has adopted new practices “to prevent this from happening in the future,” a spokesman said.
A Procter & Gamble spokesman said the company has “nothing to share” about the recalls.
The news that many of the favorite products we spray on our bodies may contain a cancer-causing contaminant has some consumers worried, prompting social media chatter and online research about benzene.
When Kyla Moore, 22, who lives in Alberta, Canada and works in customer relations, heard about the recall, she discovered that her box of Dove Coconut Dry Shampoo was on the list of potentially contaminated products. She threw it in the trash a few days after Unilever’s announcement and said she has no plans to buy it again after switching to a new shampoo she likes better.
Trace amounts of benzene can be added
Benzene is used to make plastics, detergents, dyes and pesticides. Inhaling or absorbing benzene over time can lead to leukemia, anemia and other blood disorders, according to the FDA.
Much of the research on the harmful effects of benzene focuses on occupational hazards. A study published in 1977 found that workers in the US rubber industry were at least five times more likely to develop leukemia.
We can be exposed to benzene in many ways. Rubber collars were added to the gas pump nozzles to protect us from the benzene in the gas fumes. We inhale benzene when we smoke, and we expose our families to benzene through secondhand smoke. In a study published earlier this month, researchers discovered benzene leaking from gas stoves in California.
“Everyone is exposed to benzene,” said Stephen M. Rappaport, a professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley’s School of Public Health. “It’s just a matter of how much.”
The World Health Organization has said that there is “no safe level” of exposure to benzene in the air we breathe.
Some experts say the concern with any amount of benzene in consumer products like dry shampoo or deodorant is that we’re often spraying these cans in enclosed spaces like small bathrooms where there isn’t much airflow and a more big for someone to inhale. known carcinogen.
Last week, Stella Krause, a 20-year-old undergraduate student at the University of Chicago learned about the recall on Twitter. Instead of ditching her Dove dry shampoo, she started spritzing it on her hair outside. Krause said she already thought breathing in dry shampoo spray was not good for her lungs.
“For carcinogens, it’s not like there’s any safe level,” said Deborah Bennett, a professor of public health at the University of California, Davis. “Any additional exposure you have from consumer products will increase your risk.”
Pollution in the supply chain?
Homer Swei, a senior vice president at the Environmental Working Group, a research and advocacy organization, said he believes the fuel supply chain for these various companies must have been affected to lead to such a wide range of recalls. .
Swei said the good news is that “the process is working” and companies are trying to figure out the cause. The bad news is that there seem to be problems with more than one supplier.
“It hit everybody, it seems, at the same time, which is very strange,” said Swei, who worked at Johnson & Johnson for nearly twenty years. “They all have different supply chains.”
The string of aerosol can recalls began after Valisure, the independent lab based in New Haven, Conn., released two separate studies that found traces of benzene in dozens of different brands of deodorant and sunscreen.
This is not the first time questions have been raised about the propellant used in our spray cans. For years, aerosol cans were powered by chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). But in the 1970s researchers discovered that CFCs are partly responsible for destroying the Earth’s ozone layer, and companies stopped using them and eventually switched to other aerosol technologies, including butane-based propellants.
But not all spray cans rely on petroleum-based propellants. Cans of whipped cream are often powered by nitrous oxide. Other spray cans use a “bag-on-valve” technology that separates the propellant from the product inside the can, said Marisa Plescia, a Minneapolis-based cosmetic chemist.
To find out if your product contains a butane propellant, simply check the label. The chemicals used in the propellant must be listed on the ingredients or inactive ingredients box. Look for any ingredients that end in “-ane,” such as propane, butane and isobutane, Plescia said.
Evidence that a product may use an alternative technology such as a bag-on-valve system is claims that the product does not contain flammable ingredients or has a “continuous spray”.
Kelly Dobos, a cosmetic chemist and professor at the University of Cincinnati, said if companies decide to change aerosol technologies, it will take time to adjust formulations or develop new products with a different spray system.
“Product development timelines are often a year, two years or more to account for testing and validation of shelf-life stability,” Dobos said. “While the levels of benzene found in the products from the Unilever recall are not expected to cause adverse health consequences, the best advice I can give to consumers who are concerned is to eliminate the use of the aerosol.
Swei said he would also tell his friends to avoid using these aerosol products “until the industry can fix these problems in the supply chain.”
“While there is some uncertainty, it’s not good for you,” Swei said. “The lower the better for known carcinogens. But what is that level? We don’t know yet.”
