Toxic Nation | Pollution. It's In You.

On September 5th, the federal government announced that the cancer-causing chemical 1,4-dioxane was not “toxic”. 1,4-Dioxane readily penetrates through skin and is an International Agency for Research on Cancer Group 2B carcinogen, on California’s Prop 65 as a chemical known to cause cancer, and a European Commission Category 3 carcinogen. It is a common impurity in consumer products, including those used by children (e.g., shampoo), even though it can be easily removed. Exposures to 1,4-dioxane have been linked to tumors of the liver, gallbladder, nasal cavity, lung, skin, and breast.

The U.S.-based Campaign for Safe Cosmetics conducted testing of children's bath products available in North America for 1,4-dioxane. They found it in 32 of 48 products. It is also likely an impurity in 22% or more of the 25,000 products in the Environmental Working Group's Cosmetics Database.

Help get this chemical out of products by sending a letter to government urging it to designate 1,4-dioxane as “toxic” and get manufacturers to remove it from our consumer products.

Check out our 1,4-dioxane fact sheet and/or read this article in the Montreal Gazette for more information.