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Canada lists Cosmetics Chemicals

Personal-care chemicals go on toxic list

02.02.2009 |Globe and Mail




“It is the first time any country has taken such regulatory action against the substances, called D4 and D5 by the silicone industry, that are also in hundreds of personal-care products ranging from deodorants to skin moisturizers.”
 
The federal government is placing on its toxic substances list two silicon-based chemicals that are widely used in shampoos and conditioners, where they help give hair the silky, smooth feeling often played up in advertisements for these personal care products.

It is the first time any country has taken such regulatory action against the substances, called D4 and D5 by the silicone industry, that are also in hundreds of personal-care products ranging from deodorants to skin moisturizers.

Although the chemicals have been linked to cancer and other health problems in high dose laboratory animal experiments, Ottawa deemed typical human exposures were far too low to be a health risk. But it decided to designate the substances as dangerous, based on fears that they were a threat to wildlife when they get into the environment from the disposal of consumer products and from industrial releases.

The determination was made jointly Environment Canada and Health Canada and is in the current Canada Gazette, which also contained notices that the government will designate as toxic several pigments and petrochemicals.

The toxic designation is a regulatory step that allows the government to introduce measures to control, reduce, or even eliminate the use of dangerous substances.

The chemicals deemed harmful are part of a review being conducted by federal scientists of about 200 potentially dangerous substances grandfathered from detailed safety assessments when Canada adopted its first modern pollution laws in the 1980s.

Under the reviews, Ottawa has been issuing assessments on chemicals nearly every month, a process that inexplicably stopped in November and December.

Environmentalists say the hold-up was the result of heavy pressure by industry on Environment Minister Jim Prentice over the fate of D4 and D5, and another chemical, D6, that was not found by federal scientists to be an environmental or human health threat.

”There was some very fierce industry lobbying, the silicon industry was lobbying very hard on these chemicals,” said Aaron Freeman, a spokesman for Environmental Defence, an advocacy group.

But the association representing makers of the chemicals, the Virginia-based Silicones Environmental Health and Safety Council of North America, denied that its intervention temporarily stopped the government's chemical review process. The organization has ”never advocated that [Ottawa] withhold or delay” its decision on the toxic designation, said Karluss Thomas, executive director.

In a statement, the association said it believes the federal government will conduct further studies on the fate of D4 and D5 e in the environment, and predicted this research will find the chemicals safe.

Mr. Prentice's office did not respond to requests for comment.

Among the other compounds that will be designated as toxic are: 

-Thiourea, used to make printed circuit boards, and which is also sometimes contained in sliver polish and tarnish removers. It is a source of worry because it causes tumours at multiple sites, including mammary glands, in laboratory animals.

-Isoprene, a chemical incorporated into vehicle tires, footwear, and paint resins. It was listed over cancer concerns and worries it harms the thymus.

-C.I. pigment yellow 34 and C.I. pigment red 104, two chemicals used in commercial printing inks and paints. They are of concern because they are linked to cancer.

Martin Mittelstaedt - Globe and Mail

References:

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