Artnaturals hand sanitizer
Photographer: Tiffany Hagler-Geard / Bloomberg
Photographer: Tiffany Hagler-Geard / Bloomberg
Some widely available hand sanitizers that American consumers took last year to prevent coronavirus infection contain high levels of a chemical known to cause cancer, an analysis by a testing firm found.
An assortment of hand cleaners that entered the market after the pylons disappeared from retail outlets contains high levels of benzene, Valisure, an online pharmacy in New Haven, Connecticut, that tests the quality and consistency of products.
Causes of benzene cancer, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services. The World Health Organization, the cancer research group, places it in the highest risk category, on an equal footing asbestos.
Valisure analyzed 260 bottles from 168 brands and found that 17% of the samples contained detectable levels of benzene. Twenty-one bottles, or 8%, contained more than two parts per million of benzene, a temporary limit set by the FDA for liquid hand sanitizers to ease supply tightening.
This level “can be tolerated for a relatively short period of time,” the FDA said he said in June. Fifteen brands were represented among the 21 bottles with the highest levels of contamination. The evidence came from store shelves near headquarters and online outlets, Valisure said.
To see citizen Valisure’s petition to the FDA, including a list of brands identified with high levels of benzene, Click here.
Urged by politicians and health officials to wash their hands, consumers quickly depleted the supply of household names such as Purell and Suave. While these brands, like most of those tested, do not contain unsafe levels of benzene, many new entrants have done so, according to Valisure. Some of these contaminated hygiene products have been found for sale at Amazon.com Inc. and Points of sale Target Corp.
Most Valisure hand sanitizers found and tested were gels. The results of the pharmacy tests were verified by Yale University Chemical and Biophysical Instrumentation Center and Boston Analytical, a private laboratory. On Wednesday, Valisure asked the Food and Drug Administration acts on contaminated products.
Hand sanitizer brands with bottle testing for the highest levels of benzene detected by Valisure
1. natural art 9. concepts of beauty 2. Scentsational Soaps & Candles Inc. 10. PureLogic 3. huangjisoo 11. Miami Carry On 4. TrueWash 12. Natural miracle 5. The cream shop 13. cleans-protects-sanitizes 6. Mandalorian Star Wars 14. Purify 7. Body prescriptions 15. Clean your hands 100 8. Born Basic
Blood cancers
“These findings are alarming and reveal a potentially serious risk to public health,” Valisure said in a petition signed by the executive director. David Light and other directors. The pharmacy previously discovered high levels of other carcinogens in the components of drugs manufactured abroad for the US market.
Read more: America’s love affair with cheap drugs has a hidden cost
It is not clear how benzene became present in the products. It may have been introduced during the manufacturing process when the alcohol that kills the germs is purified, Valisure said.
Among the most contaminated hand cleaning products were products from natural, Scentsational Soaps and Candles Inc., The Creme Shop and a Baby Yoda-themed bottle from Best Brands Consumer Products Inc. Each began selling cleaning products that were tested by Valisure in either April or May 2020, according to FDA records. A natural disinfectant product contained the most benzene of those sampled, at 16 parts per million.
Calls and emails to manufacturers and retailers requesting comments were not returned at the beginning of the US day. Walt Disney Co., which airs the “The Mandalorian” series featuring the baby Yoda, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Better Brands Baby Yoda hand sanitizer
Photographer: Tiffany Hagler-Geard / Bloomberg
Benzene has been linked to certain types of blood cancer, such as leukemia. Cigarette smoke accounts for about half of US benzene exposure, according to the American Cancer Society. Workers in certain chemical industries risk exposure to material that is used in the manufacture of plastics and rubber.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health says absorption and ingestion of the skin are also possible. In 1990, a local environmental officer from North Carolina discovered benzene in Perrier water bottles, which led the company to make a massive recall and stop distribution in 120 countries. The company resumed bottling shortly after the problem was identified and resolved and was purchased by Nestle SA in 1992.
USA, China Origin
Focusing on the safety of hand sanitizer, the FDA in January blocked imports of products from Mexico after it was discovered that many contain methanol, a form of alcohol that is poisonous to humans. Most Valisure products that contain high levels of benzene have been manufactured in China or the USA
The analysis also found high levels of methanol in hand sanitizers. A Scentsational product that tested high levels of benzene had a methanol limit of 14 times, which is 630 parts per million. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers should not normally contain methanol; They are usually made with ethanol or grain alcohol, which is also used in some beverages.
Valisure’s Light said it initially mocked the idea that a dangerous carcinogen, such as benzene, would be in hand cleaning, but now he is glad that chief scientist Kaury Kucera has put pressure to test it. Disinfectants could have been contaminated with benzene because it is sometimes used to purify alcohol, Valisure said.
Manufacturing process
Although benzene should be removed in the final stages of manufacturing after alcohol purification, it may not have been, Valisure said. Gel hand sanitizer is also made by adding a powder called a carbomer, often made with benzene, to create viscosity, the pharmacy said.
Read more: Carcinogen in Zantac and Generics Triggers FDA, EU Trials
It was also found that the medicines contained carcinogens that were either not washed properly during the manufacturing process or were formed later, as the medicines were on the shelves. Contaminants include NDMA or N-nitrosodimethylamine, a probable carcinogen that was found in blood pressure pills in 2018, leading to memories.
Valisure later detected NDMA in Zantac for heartburn and in its generic forms, as well as metformin, a treatment for diabetes, causing further action. The FDA eventually requested that Zantac and its generic form, ranitidine, be released in the United States. About two dozen companies have sold FDA-approved generic versions of the drug at that time.
In 2019, Valisure also identified high levels of a probable carcinogen called DMF or dimethylformamide in blood pressure medications. DMF is a solvent used in the early stages of drug manufacture, which is supposed to be washed from the final product. The FDA is looking more closely at manufacturers of ingredients that could use DMF.
Benzene is the third and most dangerous cancer-causing chemical that the pharmacy has helped bring to light in product testing.
(Updates to the list of Valisure brands found with the highest levels of benzene)