Laundry and cleaning products are likely to contain cancer-causing chemicals that manufacturers do not have to list on the box or carton.
Around a third of all laundry, cleaning and air freshener products contain at least one chemical that is a known carcinogen, or cancer-causing agent.
In an analysis of 25 household cleaning products and air fresheners, including some that claim to be ‘green’, researchers from the University of Washington discovered that each one contained an average of 17 different chemicals. Of the 133 chemicals detected, around a quarter are classified as toxic or hazardous under US law, and a third contained a carcinogenic chemical that is considered to be dangerous at any level of exposure.
Astonishingly, manufacturers are not obliged to list all chemicals on the packaging as the formula is protected under commercial law.
(Source: Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 2010; doi: 10.1016/j.eiar.2010.08.002).
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