London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Aug 02, 2025

Carcinogenic chemical benzene found in hundreds of US personal care products

Carcinogenic chemical benzene found in hundreds of US personal care products

Independent lab found the chemical in more than a quarter of items it tested – sometimes at levels considered ‘life threatening’
Independent testing has found hundreds of popular personal care items in the US to be contaminated with benzene, a highly carcinogenic chemical, prompting several big brands to voluntarily recall dozens of products in recent months.

The lab, Valisure, last year detected benzene in hand sanitizers, sunscreens, deodorant, dry shampoos, conditioners, antiperspirants, deodorants, body sprays and anti-fungal treatments. The contamination has been most frequently detected in aerosol or spray products, some at levels the Food and Drug Administration characterized as “life-threatening”.

The findings suggest that benzene contamination is widespread and is probably in more products that have not yet been tested, said David Light, Valisure’s chief executive.

“Benzene really shouldn’t be there at all,” he said. “What we’re seeing is a fundamental problem in the manufacturing of a lot of consumer products.” To date, Valisure has tested 662 items and found the chemical in 180, or about 27%, of products.

Procter & Gamble, Bayer, CVS and Johnson & Johnson have issued voluntary recalls for widely distributed brands including Brut, Sure, Pantene, Herbal Essences, Old Spice, Secret, Tinactin, Lotrimin, Coppertone, Neutrogena and Aveeno. Among the recalled hand sanitizer brands are Art Naturals, Best Brands and Natural Wunderz.

Light pointed to “decades of research” that has found no safe levels of benzene exposure because it’s so toxic at very low levels. The petroleum-based chemical “causes cancer”, especially leukemia and in blood forming organs, the US Department of Health and Human Services wrote. The toxin has also been shown to harm the central nervous system and reproductive organs.

The US banned benzene’s use as an ingredient nearly 45 years ago, and it is “somewhat unique in that it’s pretty well established to be incredibly toxic – that’s been known for decades to over a century,” said David Andrews, senior scientist at the public health advocate Environmental Working Group.

Advocates took aim at the Food and Drug Administration for failing to do more to protect the public. In a December statement, the agency said it was investigating the situation, doing its own testing and urged companies to recall contaminated products.

Though the agency lacks the authority to order recalls and may be limited in its pre-market authority to require testing, advocates are calling on the FDA to clarify an existing benzene limit, set new exposure limits, and conduct more testing of products on store shelves to ensure they are safe, instead of leaving that up to independent labs. The FDA’s system “really lacks independent review” because it relies on companies to self report, Light said.

Federal rules allow benzene to be used in the manufacture of personal care products, and that can cause it to end up in goods, even if it’s not listed as an ingredient. Benzene can also be added in emergency situations, like the pandemic, or if it provides “significant therapeutic” advantages. In such scenarios, the FDA’s limit is two parts per million, but some products that provided no therapeutic advantage were found with levels as high as 21 ppm.

In a statement, the FDA wrote it “continues to monitor the issue” and work with companies to recall contaminated products. Though the agency doesn’t have exposure limits, it informs companies that “solvents such as benzene should not be employed in the manufacture of drug substances, excipients, or drug products because of their unacceptable toxicity.”

Some companies have capitalized on the confusing regulations and gaps to downplay the problem. Johnson & Johnson, which recalled sunscreens in July, said “daily exposure to benzene in these aerosol sunscreen products at the levels detected in our testing would not be expected to cause adverse health consequences.”

The company’s statement was posted by the FDA on its website even though agency scientists found in a July analysis obtained by Consumer Reports that benzene-contaminated sunscreen did pose a “life-threatening risk”.

“Is the FDA serving these companies or the public?” Andrews asked.

How benzene is landing in products remains a bit of a mystery in some instances. Companies claim they aren’t adding it to their formulas, and the FDA theorized that it’s probably in contaminated thickening agents, preservatives, spray propellant or ethanol.

In many cases, Valisure found one batch of a product would contain benzene while another of the same product would not. That highlights the complexities and lack of oversight in the global supply chains that produce personal care products. A propellant like butane that’s refined very early in the manufacturing process “touches dozens of different hands” in its journey from raw material to sunscreen on a shelf, yet nobody detected benzene, Light said.

Valisure most frequently found benzene in body sprays, which includes deodorants and anti-perspirants: nearly half of the 108 products from 30 different brands contained it. The highest levels were found in Sure, Old Spice, Secret, Equate, Right Guard, Tag and Brut.

Valisure tested nearly 300 sunscreens or after-sun products and found detectable levels in 77, or about 27%, of samples. Among those with the highest levels were Neutrogena, CVS, Sun Bum, Raw Elements and Banana Boat. Though spray-on sunscreen was found to be contaminated most frequently, the chemical was also detected in lotions and gels.

Valisure’s hand sanitizer analysis found the highest levels of benzene in small brands that popped up as demand for the product spiked. Out of 260 samples from 168 brands sold on Amazon, at pharmacies and at box stores such as Target, 44, or about 17%, had detectable levels of benzene. Products from household names like Purell and Suave didn’t contain the chemical.

In its December statement, TPC Hot Acquisition, which owns Brut and Sure, wrote: “To date, no reports of adverse events related to this recall have been reported. This voluntary recall is being conducted out of an abundance of caution.”

However, it’s nearly impossible to legally prove that one specific chemical has caused an illness, and Andrews noted benzene has a latency period of 10 to 15 years. “The time lag between exposure and cancer can be a long period of time,” he said.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
Trump Administration Finalizes Broad Tariff Increases on Global Trade Partners
J.K. Rowling Limits Public Engagements Citing Safety Fears
JD.com Launches €2.2 Billion Bid for German Electronics Retailer Ceconomy
Azerbaijan Proceeds with Plan to Legalise Casinos on Artificial Islands
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
×