Survey of chemical substances in consumer products, 69. – Survey of liquid hand soaps, including health and environmental assessments

Survey of liquid hand soaps, including health and environmental assessments

1 Introduction

For the past 10-15 years consumer habits have changed concerning the use of hand soaps. Formerly, mainly solid products were used that were made of fatty acids and with few ingredients. Today, the use of liquid products or foam products is more widespread. These have a more complex composition and contain for instance preservatives to a much greater extent. In many cases, perfumery materials and pigments have also been added. Many different products are for sale on the Danish market, both liquid and solid products, and the market includes various manufacturers and importers for both consumers (retail distribution) and for occupational use (I&I products ^[1]).

Hand soaps are covered by the Danish "kosmetikbekendtgørelsen" ^[2]. All ingredients in cosmetics must be stated on the product label and listed in descending order according to their weight percentage in the product. Wherever possible the ingredients should be stated by the common nomenclature for cosmetics (INCI name). Fragrance chemicals must be listed as "parfume" or "parfum". As of 11 March 2005, 26 specified fragrance chemicals reported as contact allergens must be declared separately on products marketed after this date. Products already for sale on 11 March 2005 are excepted from the obligation of labelling.

There are no legal requirements for environmental risk assessment of substances and products. However, environmental criteria for the environmental properties of cosmetic products are established under the Nordic eco-label as common criteria for all cosmetics covered by the EU cosmetics directive.

Consumers are exposed daily to potentially problematic substances in connection with washing their hands. Especially, fragrance chemicals and preservatives have been brought into focus as these substances are frequently the cause of contact dermatitis. Furthermore, many preservatives and fragrance chemicals have not been adequately investigated concerning their impact on the environment after discharge. Consequently, there is a demand for generally comprehensible knowledge of the potential risk of using the products, both from a health perspective and from an environmental perspective.

In this project a survey has been carried out of liquid hand soaps for sale in retail distribution and for occupational use (trade and industry as well as the health sector). When mapping the product ingredients focus has been on biocides, preservatives, fragrance chemicals, and surfactants. Moreover, a comparison has been made of ingredients typical of liquid hand soaps for sale in retail distribution and of liquid hand soaps for occupational use.

The survey results have been used to assess the exposure of both users and the environment to chemical substances in liquid hand soaps, and consequently to assess the risk involved in using liquid hand soaps.

Footnotes

[1] I&I = "industry and institutions", which includes industry and companies, child care centres, youth centres, and old people's homes as well as the health sector.

[2] Danish statutory order on cosmetics based on the EU Cosmetics legislation Council Directive 76/768/EEC.