Thanks to Laura at FillYourPants for this one…

With the recent press on BPA being taken out of baby bottles, it will come as no surprise that other baby products are being investigated.

Despite marketing claims like “gentle” and “pure,” dozens of top-selling children’s bath products are contaminated with the cancer-causing chemicals formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane, according to the March 2009 Campaign for Safe Cosmetics report, “No More Toxic Tub.”

This study is the first to document the widespread presence of both formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane in bath products for children, including baby shampoos, bubble baths and baby lotions. Many products tested contained both chemicals. What the company found: The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics commissioned an independent laboratory to test 48 products for 1,4-dioxane; 28 of those products were also tested for formaldehyde. The lab found that:
* 17 out of 28 products tested – 61 percent – contained both formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane.
* 23 out of 28 products – 82 percent – contained formaldehyde at levels ranging from 54 to 610 parts per million (ppm).
* 32 out of 48 products – 67 percent – contained 1,4-dioxane at levels ranging from 0.27 to 35 ppm.

So is this another scare tactic and should mums be worried, well while a single product might not be cause for concern, the reality is that babies may be exposed to several products at bath time and in greater quantities than on the packaging, exposed several times a week, in addition to other chemical exposures in the home and environment. Those small exposures add up and may contribute to later-life disease.

You can read the full report here

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