Products’ scents may hide toxic secrets

Seattle Post-Intelligencer | July 27, 2008

Manufacturers of scented detergents, laundry sheets and air fresheners aren’t required to list all of their ingredients on their labels—or anywhere else. But many of these common household items contain potentially dangerous chemicals, a University of Washington study has found.

UW engineering professor Anne Steinemann’s analysis of some of these popular items found 100 different volatile organic compounds measuring 300 parts per billion or more—some of which can be cancerous or cause harm to respiratory, reproductive, neurological and other organ systems.

Some chemicals are categorized as hazardous or toxic by federal regulatory agencies. But the labels tell a different story, naming only innocuous-sounding “perfume” or “biodegradable” contents.

Industry representatives have denied their products are unsafe.

But tests that Steinemann ordered of dryer sheets, fabric softeners, detergents and air fresheners showed that 10 of the 100 volatile organic compounds identified qualified under federal rules as toxic or hazardous.