Don’t take our word for it. Here’s every fact on this site, with its evidence grade, its caveats, and a link to the source, so you can check us.
We start you on the strong ones: findings that have been replicated or come from one large, well-controlled study. Moderate and weak facts are here too, labeled for what they are. Use “Link to this fact” to share a single card.
Health effects / Other evidence
Polysorbates 20, 65 and 80 raised the skin penetration of albuterol through hairless mouse skin (enhancement ratios about 3.4, 4.7 and 3.0 versus saline), and the Panel cautioned about combining them with ingredients whose safety rested on low skin absorption, 'especially' in infant products.
Moderate evidence: Single mouse-skin study, a drug (albuterol) not a cosmetic ingredient; human skin penetration not shown.
Source: CIR 2015 draft Industry-funded Link to this fact
Health effects / Other evidence
EU food-safety scientists (EFSA, 2015) set a group safe daily intake of 25 mg per kg body weight for polysorbates 20, 40, 60, 65 and 80 as food additives and found no genotoxicity, cancer or developmental toxicity concern; the older EU committee figure was 10.
Moderate evidence.
Caveats
Oral food-additive evaluation, mostly decades-old animal studies; says nothing about skin or inhalation. The 2,500 mg/kg bw/day no-effect level is the panel's own judgment from the 103-week NTP rat study of polysorbate 80 (NTP set none and called the male-rat adrenal finding equivocal), divided by 100 and read across to the other four polysorbates.
Source: EFSA Panel (2015), abstract only, EFSA Journal Link to this fact
Health effects / Other evidence
EFSA's 2015 estimate for the highest-exposed toddlers eating polysorbate-containing foods was 24.5 mg/kg body weight a day, just under the 25 mg/kg safe-intake limit, but that is the mildest of its three high-exposure scenarios: in the regulatory-maximum scenario the high-end (95th percentile) exposure exceeds the limit in every age group (up to 63.7 mg/kg a day in children), and in the brand-loyal scenario in every age group except adolescents (up to 57.5).
Moderate evidence.
Caveats
Modeled scenarios, not measured intake. Usage data were missing for three food categories, and polysorbates from cosmetics, personal care products, textiles and pharmaceuticals were not counted, so true exposure could be higher.
Source: EFSA Panel (2015), abstract only, EFSA Journal Link to this fact
Health effects / Other evidence
FDA reported that its samples of this firm's in-process powder blends, collected at the Raritan inspection in Sep-Oct 2016, and finished teething tablets made from them were not homogeneous in composition.
Moderate evidence: No homogeneity data, alkaloid amounts or assay method given; FDA's statement only.
Source: FDA warning letter 320-17-45, 2 Aug 2017 Link to this fact
Health effects / Other evidence
In the CIR draft's own animal data, hydrogen peroxide skin irritation rises with concentration: rabbits showed no irritation up to 10%, irritation at 35% and corrosion at about 50% and above; guinea pigs were not sensitized at up to 6%.
Moderate evidence: Secondary summary of older, small animal studies with limited detail; sensitization data are animal-only in the draft; industry-funded panel.
Source: CIR 2018 draft (Do Not Cite or Quote; PCPC-funded CIR) Industry-funded Link to this fact
Health effects / Other evidence
Hydrogen peroxide tested positive in many in vitro genotoxicity assays but negative in the in vivo tests CIR lists; the panel dismissed the positives as irrelevant to cosmetic use because the chemical breaks down quickly on skin.
Moderate evidence: The dismissal rests on the panel's reasoning, not on measurement of skin or mucosal dose in people; industry-funded panel; draft.
Source: CIR 2018 draft (Do Not Cite or Quote; PCPC-funded CIR) Industry-funded Link to this fact
Health effects / Other evidence
US EPA (2012) classed perchloroethylene "likely to be carcinogenic in humans by all routes of exposure"; IARC rates it Group 2A (probably carcinogenic), and the sensitive non-cancer effect is neurotoxicity (cognitive effects, slower reaction time).
Moderate evidence.
Caveats
Relayed by a county report from agency assessments; occupational evidence is for bladder cancer, lymphoma and myeloma and is described as limited or suggestive for others; no early-life cancer data exist per the report.
Source: SCDHS 2018 Link to this fact
Health effects / Other evidence
California's health-hazard office could not find D5 (the GreenEarth siloxane solvent) a "non-toxic" alternative to perchloroethylene: rats exposed to 160 ppm for 24 months had more uterine tumors (mechanism disputed and judged not relevant to humans), and liver toxicity set an interim reference level of 700 micrograms per cubic meter.
Moderate evidence.
Caveats
Animal data relayed from agency reviews; the human relevance of the tumors is disputed; Environment Canada 2008 judged D5 not harmful at current environmental entry; D5 is mostly in personal care products, so cleaning is a minor source.
Source: SCDHS 2018 Link to this fact
Health effects / Other evidence
For hydrocarbon (DF-2000) and butylal solvents, NIOSH 2015 said that, being non-chlorinated, they are likely preferable to perchloroethylene but that there was not enough information for a definitive determination; the county gave both yellow health ratings.
Moderate evidence: Opinion and data-gap statements from NIOSH as relayed; absence of chronic data, not demonstrated harm.
Source: SCDHS 2018 Link to this fact
Health effects / Other evidence
FDA said its lab tests of multiple lots of Puriton Eye Relief Drops, sold as homeopathic, found Bacillus bacteria, high particulate matter or both, plus a caustic pH, and the company recalled all lots after FDA contacted it.
Moderate evidence: A warning letter states FDA's allegations, not a court finding. No colony counts, particle counts, pH values or lot numbers are given (pH redacted), and no injuries are reported.
Source: FDA warning letter 570947, 2 May 2019, FDA warning letter (MARCS-CMS 570947), 2 May 2019 Link to this fact
Health effects / Other evidence
In one FDA-cited study, 15 men and 17 women applying a 10 percent oxybenzone cream to about 90 percent of the body once daily for 4 days had oxybenzone detected in plasma and urine, and FDA calls this evidence of significant systemic availability.
Moderate evidence.
Caveats
Small, single study of a non-sunscreen cream applied once daily; FDA itself says it does not capture labeled reapplication and does not establish real-use absorption. Figures are approximate, read from the chart.
Source: FDA proposed order OTC000008 (2021) Link to this fact
Health effects / Other evidence
FDA says oxybenzone was detected in human breast milk, amniotic fluid, urine and blood plasma, and that high maternal urinary levels were associated with birth-weight changes in one biomonitoring study, which FDA calls "inconclusive" evidence of endocrine effects in humans.
Moderate evidence: FDA describes the human endocrine evidence as inconclusive; the birth-weight association is from one biomonitoring study and is correlational.
Source: FDA proposed order OTC000008 (2021) Link to this fact
Health effects / Other evidence
FDA says the animal evidence on oxybenzone includes reduced sperm density in male rats and mice and longer estrous cycles in female rodents in 13-week NTP studies, and that the actual effects on female fertility were not evaluated.
Moderate evidence.
Caveats
FDA notes these studies used acetone dermal dosing or oral feeding, which may give systemic exposure higher than sunscreen use; FDA says they need toxicokinetic data before their relevance to humans can be judged.
Source: FDA proposed order OTC000008 (2021) Link to this fact
Health effects / Other evidence
FDA says the record lacks the human maximal-usage absorption study, toxicokinetic data, dermal and systemic carcinogenicity studies and developmental and reproductive toxicity studies that it expects before oxybenzone could be GRASE at up to 6 percent.
Moderate evidence.
Caveats
These are FDA's own expectations under a 2021 proposal. FDA reviews NTP oral carcinogenicity studies that may fill part of the systemic gap; the list reflects the record as of 2021.
Source: FDA proposed order OTC000008 (2021) Link to this fact
Health effects / Other evidence
FDA says oxybenzone may generate reactive oxygen species under UV light, and that the harms of this have not been fully explored.
Moderate evidence: A literature pointer that FDA says is unexplored, not a finding of harm.
Source: FDA proposed order OTC000008 (2021) Link to this fact
Health effects / Measured in people or real products
In a Finnish occupational clinic series of 69 workers with clinically verified irritant-induced asthma, 57% of cases came from corrosive acids or alkalis (including dusts, gases and mixtures), and sulfuric acid was the most common single agent.
Moderate evidence.
Caveats
Single-center retrospective case series; industrial workplaces, not households; no control group. Industrial exposures above workplace limits; no fragrance or household product was among the agents.
Source: Lindström 2021, Occupational and Environmental Medicine Link to this fact
Health effects / Measured in people or real products
Acute irritant-induced asthma (one high-level exposure within 24 hours) followed accidents at work across many occupations, usually because workers lacked information or had false guidance (36% of acute cases); subacute cases (repeated high exposures) clustered in industrial plant operators with neglected hygiene measures (74%).
Moderate evidence.
Caveats
Single-center retrospective case series; industrial workplaces, not households; no control group. Root cause was one 'most important' cause per case chosen by the authors from records, not blinded.
Source: Lindström 2021, Occupational and Environmental Medicine Link to this fact
Health effects / Measured in people or real products
Finnish researchers defined acute irritant-induced asthma as one high-level exposure within 24 hours and subacute as repeated high-level exposures over more than 24 hours, both requiring exposure above an occupational limit, new asthma with airway hyper-responsiveness, and symptoms persisting more than 3 months.
Moderate evidence: Case definition from Brooks 1998 and the EAACI position paper as applied by one clinic; subacute IIA is called controversial by the authors, who set no maximum exposure duration.
Source: Lindström 2021, Occupational and Environmental Medicine Link to this fact
Health effects / Measured in people or real products
In the Finnish series, workplace measurements confirmed exposure above the occupational limit in 49% of subacute and 10% of acute irritant-induced asthma cases, with some exposures many times the limit (for example endotoxin up to 280-fold, ammonia up to 1300% of the limit).
Moderate evidence: Measurements were available for only 30 of 69 cases, often company gas detectors; acute events were unexpected so rarely measured. Time of measurement relative to onset varied.
Source: Lindström 2021, Occupational and Environmental Medicine Link to this fact
Health effects / Other evidence
FDA called homeopathic eye drops especially concerning because ophthalmic products 'bypass some of the body's natural defenses,' but the letter reports no injuries, contamination or test results for the product.
Moderate evidence: This is a general route-of-administration statement, not product-specific harm data.
Source: FDA warning letter 708635 (25 Aug 2025), FDA warning letter (MARCS-CMS 708635), 25 August 2025 Link to this fact
Health effects / Other evidence
In a randomized trial of 1,621 Australian adults, daily SPF 16 sunscreen on the head, neck, arms and hands for 4.5 years did not reduce basal-cell carcinoma compared with usual sunscreen use (rate ratio 1.03, 95% CI 0.73-1.46 for people treated).
Moderate evidence.
Caveats
Control group used sunscreen at its own discretion (no placebo sunscreen); BCC often arises off the treated sites (32% of control first BCCs were on trunk or legs); 4.5 years in adults only.
Source: Green 1999, The Lancet Industry-funded Link to this fact
Health effects / Other evidence
Daily sunscreen use produced significantly fewer squamous-cell carcinoma tumors on the treated sites (28 vs 46; rate ratio 0.61, 95% CI 0.46-0.81), but the number of people with squamous-cell carcinoma did not differ significantly (22 vs 25; rate ratio 0.88, 0.50-1.56).
Moderate evidence.
Caveats
The significant result is a secondary tumor-count analysis on small numbers; the authors say chance cannot be ruled out and person-based numbers were insufficient for conclusive statements; control arm used sunscreen at its own discretion.
Source: Green 1999, The Lancet Industry-funded Link to this fact
Health effects / Other evidence
Daily sunscreen use did not increase skin cancer risk in this 4.5-year randomized trial; the main complaints were contact allergy or skin irritation in 25 of about 800 users, greasiness and sweat interference.
Moderate evidence: Cancer was the safety endpoint studied; no absorption or systemic toxicity was measured; allergen causing the 25 reactions not identified; the sunscreen was supplied by industry.
Source: Green 1999, The Lancet Industry-funded Link to this fact
Health effects / Other evidence
Daily betacarotene supplements (30 mg) for 4.5 years neither prevented nor significantly increased basal-cell or squamous-cell skin cancer in a randomized trial of 1,621 adults.
Moderate evidence: Squamous-cell numbers were small (40 vs 28 people); the authors judged the nonsignificant SCC excess a chance finding; 4.5-year adult trial only; betacarotene supplied by Roche.
Source: Green 1999, The Lancet Industry-funded Link to this fact
Health effects / Other evidence
An expert panel of EU endocrine-disruption researchers estimated that hormone-disrupting chemicals plausibly cost the EU about EUR 163 billion a year (about EUR 322 per person, 1.28% of GDP), counting only a handful of chemicals.
Moderate evidence.
Caveats
Modeled median across 1000 simulations using expert-panel probabilities of causation, not a measured cost; moving the probability bands shifts the median between about EUR 112 and 180 billion. Same author group wrote the earlier reports it updates, funded by the Endocrine Society and three foundations.
Health effects / Other evidence
In a 1977-1983 FDA-funded series of 713 cosmetic dermatitis cases seen by US contact dermatitis specialists, 81% were allergic (sensitization) and 16% irritant.
Moderate evidence: Specialist referral series, not general-population rates; irritation understated (subjective stinging not evaluated); 1977-1983 products.
Source: Adams & Maibach 1985, Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology Link to this fact
Health effects / Other evidence
A European allergy-society expert panel says asthma starting within hours of a single very high irritant exposure, such as a chlorine or chloramine cloud from mixing bleach with acids or ammonia, can be attributed to the exposure with a high level of confidence.
Moderate evidence: Expert consensus, not a systematic review; exposure concentrations in the underlying cases were mostly estimated, not measured.
Health effects / Other evidence
The panel says frequent use of bleach, ammonia and degreasing sprays has been consistently associated with asthma in cleaning workers, but the specific chemicals and mechanisms are unclear because cleaning products contain many ingredients, some irritants and some sensitizers.
Moderate evidence: Occupational cleaners, not consumers; consensus statement; cited studies used qualitative exposure assessment.
Health effects / Other evidence
About 57% of pulp-mill workers who had breathlessness for over a month after a chlorine gassing still had nonspecific bronchial hyperresponsiveness 18-24 months later, and 31% had airway obstruction.
Moderate evidence: Single cohort of 51 workers cited second-hand; selected workers with prolonged symptoms.
Health effects / Other evidence
Irritant-induced asthma is not an allergy: a single high exposure can trigger it without a sensitization latency period, and affected people do not react to low re-exposure of the same agent, though their airways can stay hyperresponsive for years afterward.
Moderate evidence: Expert consensus; rare cases of true sensitization after accidental exposure to a sensitizer are acknowledged.
Health effects / Other evidence
Chronic moderate irritant exposure at work can only be classed as possible irritant-induced asthma: the authors state the causal link cannot be shown in an individual and rests on epidemiology.
Moderate evidence: Panel position; they also note exposure intensity was mostly qualitative, so the tiers are partly arbitrary.
Health effects / Other evidence
Before being patch tested, dermatitis patients who turned out to be fragrance-allergic reported a moderate effect of their skin on daily life (average DLQI 6.2), about the same as other dermatitis patients (6.5).
Moderate evidence: Single multicenter questionnaire study with no diagnoses recorded for fragrance-negative patients; shows comparable burden, not that fragrance causes it.
Source: Bennike et al. 2019, Contact Dermatitis Link to this fact
Health effects / Other evidence
Irritant-induced asthma after an acute inhalation accident can be long-lasting: in a 14-year follow-up of 35 people, all still had respiratory symptoms, 68% used inhaled corticosteroids, and only 17% had recovered with normal spirometry and airway reactivity.
Moderate evidence: Small single cohort relayed secondhand; people who attend follow-up clinics may be sicker than average.
Source: Lemiere 2022, The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice Link to this fact
Health effects / Other evidence
In a Boston fertility-clinic study of 143 men, those with urinary MBP (the breakdown product of dibutyl phthalate, DBP) above the median were about 2.4 times as likely (95% CI 1.1-5.0) to have low sperm motility, and risk rose across thirds of exposure (1.0, 1.8, 3.0).
Moderate evidence.
Caveats
One small single-clinic cross-sectional study with one urine sample per man, in men already at an infertility clinic; the 2006 follow-up from the same clinic includes these men, so it is not independent confirmation.
Health effects / Review of other studies
Documented infections from contaminated cosmetics are rare and come from hospital outbreaks (four Burkholderia outbreaks via mouthwash and body milk, earlier Pseudomonas outbreaks); the review found no recent reports of infection in healthy people but says individual cases would be unlikely to be documented.
Moderate evidence: Absence of reports is not evidence of absence; hospital patients are vulnerable; narrative review without search method.
Health effects / Other evidence
Contaminated cosmetics still reach the market: of 56 US-recalled products 45% carried Pseudomonas aeruginosa and 33% Burkholderia cepacia, and EU recalls from 2005 to May 2008 (24 products) were at least 42% P. aeruginosa.
Moderate evidence: Recalls are selected for detected problems; the denominator is recalled products, not products sold.
Health effects / Other evidence
In a 2010 study of Chinese BPA and epoxy-resin workers (164 exposed, 386 unexposed men), exposed men reported more erectile difficulty (15.6% vs 3.9%; adjusted odds ratio 4.5, 95% CI 2.1-9.8) and ejaculation difficulty (13.9% vs 2.5%; aOR 7.1, 2.9-17.6).
Moderate evidence.
Caveats
Single cohort; self-reported outcomes; exposed men had far more other chemical or heavy-metal exposure (58.5% vs 13.2%); very high exposure only; no replication in our evidence base.
Health effects / Other evidence
The BPA-exposed workers in Li 2010 had a median urinary BPA of 57.9 µg/gCr against 1.2 in unexposed workers, about 48 times higher, and a median personal air level of about 4.6 µg/m³ over an 8-hour shift.
Moderate evidence: Urine in a subsample (123 exposed, 254 unexposed), pre-shift for exposed workers; air TWA8 from 180 samples.
Health effects / Industry source
In a reconstructed-skin test, none of five behentrimonium chloride lotions, nor 1-5% of the ingredient in glycerin, was predicted to be a skin irritant (tissue viability at least 98%); in an eye-irritation battery five of six lotions were non-irritants and one was borderline mild.
Moderate evidence: In vitro only; one lotion (H) scored 3.99 vs a 3.0 cutoff on BCOP; no concentration-response control for the ingredient; Kao-funded.
Source: Cameron 2013, Toxicology in Vitro Industry-funded Link to this fact
Health effects / Other evidence
The same paper that calls behentrimonium chloride lotions safe notes that concentrated behentrimonium chloride is corrosive to skin and eyes and sensitized guinea pigs at 16%, so safety depends on formulation and dose.
Moderate evidence: Animal and in vitro hazard data cited secondhand; finished 1-5% lotions tested clean.
Source: Cameron 2013, Toxicology in Vitro Industry-funded Link to this fact
Health effects / Other evidence
Among the top-voted reviews of highly rated sunscreens, shoppers praised how the product feels and looks on the skin (61% of 325 comments) more than its sun protection (45%); fewer than 1 in 5 mentioned ingredients.
Moderate evidence: Counts come from five top-voted comments per product on already highly rated products; not a representative survey of shoppers.
Health effects / Other evidence
In 400 Boston men, those who used cologne or perfume in the past 24 hours had about 83% higher urinary MEP, the breakdown product of the fragrance solvent diethyl phthalate, than men who did not.
Moderate evidence: One cohort at one clinic, shared lab and authors with the women's EARTH study; exposure marker only, no health outcome. Whether MEP marks DEP or the fragrance mixture is disputed.
Source: Nassan 2017, Environmental Health Perspectives Link to this fact
Health effects / Other evidence
The industry safety panel's own data show cetrimonium chloride is a moderate human skin irritant in 4-hour patch tests at 3.5-8.8% and not an irritant up to 1%; its use survey lists cetrimonium chloride in body and hand creams at up to 3%.
Moderate evidence.
Caveats
Patch tests used neat or aqueous solutions; finished formulations containing 3-4% were often nonirritating when diluted, and test details are mostly unpublished industry studies. CIR is financed by the Personal Care Products Council, the cosmetics industry trade association.
Source: Becker et al. 2012 (CIR), Int J Toxicol, International Journal of Toxicology Industry-funded Link to this fact
Health effects / Other evidence
Concentrated cetrimonium chloride (10%) and behentrimonium chloride (10%) caused irreversible eye damage in rabbit tests reviewed by the industry panel; behentrimonium chloride at 3% caused transient conjunctival irritation.
Moderate evidence.
Caveats
Rabbit tests (n=3 per group) at concentrations far above those in eye products (reported at 0.3% or less) but within the range used in rinse-off hair products such as conditioners (2-5%). CIR is financed by the Personal Care Products Council, the cosmetics industry trade association.
Source: Becker et al. 2012 (CIR), Int J Toxicol, International Journal of Toxicology Industry-funded Link to this fact
Health effects / Other evidence
Rat skin studies reviewed by the industry panel found measurable absorption of cetrimonium bromide (3.15% of a 3% solution in 15 minutes) and laurtrimonium bromide (0.6% in 72 hours at 3%), although the panel's Discussion says the larger trimoniums 'will also not penetrate the skin.'
Moderate evidence.
Caveats
Rat skin is generally more permeable than human skin; the human-skin and pig-skin data reviewed showed very low penetration (pig: 1.0% in skin, below detection in receptor fluid). CIR is financed by the Personal Care Products Council, the cosmetics industry trade association.
Source: Becker et al. 2012 (CIR), Int J Toxicol, International Journal of Toxicology Industry-funded Link to this fact
Health effects / Review of other studies
In cell-based reporter assays, BPA is a weak estrogen-receptor agonist: its affinity for ERα and ERβ is 10,000 to 100,000 times lower than estradiol's, and it behaves as a cell-selective partial agonist.
Moderate evidence: In vitro reporter and structural data, mostly from the authors' own lab, in a review with no systematic search; no exposure levels and no human or animal outcomes.
Source: Delfosse et al. 2014, Vitamins and Hormones 94:229-251, Vitamins and Hormones Link to this fact
Health effects / Review of other studies
In the same lab's cell assays the flame retardant TBBPA showed no estrogenic activity, while chlorinated BPA analogs (including TCBPA) were at least as estrogenic as BPA on ERα, so swapping bromine for chlorine changes the hormonal profile.
Moderate evidence: In vitro reporter and structural data, mostly from the authors' own lab, in a review with no systematic search; no exposure levels and no human or animal outcomes.
Source: Delfosse et al. 2014, Vitamins and Hormones 94:229-251, Vitamins and Hormones Link to this fact
Health effects / Other evidence
In cell assays, TBBPA and TCBPA partially activate PPARγ, a regulator of fat-cell development, at micromolar concentrations, roughly 100-fold weaker than the drug rosiglitazone (about 10 nM); they did not significantly affect PPARα or PPARδ.
Moderate evidence.
Caveats
In vitro reporter and structural data, mostly from the authors' own lab, in a review with no systematic search; no exposure levels and no human or animal outcomes. Partial agonism at micromolar concentrations does not show an effect on body fat in people.
Source: Delfosse et al. 2014, Vitamins and Hormones 94:229-251, Vitamins and Hormones Link to this fact
Health effects / Government agency
The EPA work plan relays a disputed literature on quat disinfectants and asthma (a French cohort with an adjusted odds ratio of 7.56, 95% CI 1.84-31.05, for physician-diagnosed asthma in exposed health-care workers, versus a hospital-clinic review calling such effects exceedingly rare) and takes no position, saying it will consider all epidemiology in its risk assessment.
Moderate evidence: EPA reports others' studies and the exchange between Weber and Pechter and Rosenman; it states no hazard classification. The Weber review is a single clinic's records.
Source: US EPA 2017 Link to this fact
Health effects / Other evidence
CIR's industry-funded Expert Panel, in a 2024 published supplement, concluded hydrogen peroxide is safe in cosmetics 'in the present practices of use and concentration'; the conclusion is word-for-word the same as in its 2018 draft.
Moderate evidence: Industry-funded (Personal Care Products Council) literature review, not an independent regulator finding; limited to present use levels.
Source: Becker et al. 2024, International Journal of Toxicology Industry-funded Link to this fact
Health effects / Other evidence
The CIR panel reports that 3% hydrogen peroxide patch tests were positive in 1% of 210 dermatitis patients and 0.9% of 121 hairdressers, and mostly negative in Finnish occupational series.
Moderate evidence: Retrospective clinic and registry summaries; concentrations in some series were not specified.
Source: Becker et al. 2024, International Journal of Toxicology Industry-funded Link to this fact
Health effects / Other evidence
Ingesting 3% to 35% hydrogen peroxide solutions has caused gastric injury and oxygen (gas) embolism in case reports, including deaths of a 16-month-old (about 230 g of 3%) and a 2-year-old (35%).
Moderate evidence: Case reports of accidental ingestion; not relevant to cosmetic use as directed.
Source: Becker et al. 2024, International Journal of Toxicology Industry-funded Link to this fact
Health effects / Review of other studies
Published cases of lasting asthma after a single accidental inhalation (RADS) have most often involved chlorine or chlorine-releasing chemicals, including cleaning of bathrooms, kitchens and toilets (44 cases in one series) and accidentally mixed chemicals at work.
Moderate evidence: Review of case reports, series and conference abstracts; mostly workplace accidents; frequency of report is not potency or incidence; no exposure levels.
Source: Walters 2020, Occupational Medicine Link to this fact
Health effects / Review of other studies
A systematic review of RADS reports from 2005-2019 found 752 cases, but only 7 of 17 articles (70 cases) clearly met the classic Brooks diagnostic criteria; the rest lacked data on symptom onset or airway testing, and onset time was unclear for 724 of 752 cases.
Moderate evidence: 81% of the 752 come from one surveillance paper; the authors accepted reversibility in place of bronchial challenge, a broader standard than the original.
Source: Walters 2020, Occupational Medicine Link to this fact
Health effects / Other evidence
Not every lasting cough or wheeze after a gassing is asthma or RADS: obliterative bronchiolitis, COPD, sarcoidosis and inducible laryngeal obstruction can look alike, which is why objective airway testing matters.
Moderate evidence: Expert discussion by the review authors with case-report citations, not a measured comparison.
Source: Walters 2020, Occupational Medicine Link to this fact
Health effects / Measured in people or real products
Nearly half (46.2%) of the 303 stasis dermatitis patients in this patch-test series also had a diagnosis of allergic contact dermatitis, supporting patch testing for selected people whose leg dermatitis worsens or does not respond to usual treatment.
Moderate evidence: This is among people already referred for patch testing, not among all people with stasis dermatitis; the abstract says 46.7% but the results say 46.2%.
Source: Silverberg et al. 2021, Arch Dermatol Res, Archives of Dermatological Research Link to this fact
Health effects / Measured in people or real products
Most 'relevant' patch-test calls in stasis dermatitis were only graded 'possible': for fragrance mix I 40 of 45, balsam of Peru 36 of 42 and quaternium-15 30 of 33 relevant reactions, so a positive test does not prove the product is driving the dermatitis.
Moderate evidence: Relevance is the examining clinician's judgment and was not checked by avoidance or later outcome; the authors state specific relevance to stasis dermatitis was not assessed.
Source: Silverberg et al. 2021, Arch Dermatol Res, Archives of Dermatological Research Link to this fact
Health effects / Measured in people or real products
The share of patch-tested patients who received a stasis dermatitis diagnosis fell from 1.2% in 2001-2002 to 0.4% in 2015-2016, while the share of those patients with allergic contact dermatitis stayed near 46%.
Moderate evidence: A change in referral or diagnostic habits could produce the fall; no formal diagnostic criteria; no allergen-specific trends were reported.
Source: Silverberg et al. 2021, Arch Dermatol Res, Archives of Dermatological Research Link to this fact
Health effects / Government agency
EFSA's 2015 full re-evaluation set the group safe daily intake (ADI) for polysorbates 20, 40, 60, 65 and 80 at 25 mg per kg body weight, from a no-effect dose of 2,500 mg/kg a day in a lifetime rat study of polysorbate 80 divided by 100; JECFA used the same number and the older EU committee used 10.
Moderate evidence: Agency read-across from polysorbate 80 to the other four; study from the 1990s NTP bioassay (non-guideline hematology), supporting studies 1950s-1980s; oral food additive only.
Source: EFSA ANS Panel (2015), full opinion, EFSA Journal Link to this fact
Health effects / Government agency
The 25 mg/kg a day EFSA limit rests on a rat tumor study in which male rats at the top dose had more benign adrenal tumors (29 of 50 vs 21 of 50 controls); the US National Toxicology Program called it equivocal, and EFSA set it aside as not relevant to humans because there was no genotoxicity and no malignant tumors.
Moderate evidence: The NOAEL is the panel's own judgment; NTP set none. Benign tumors, one sex, one species; not evidence that polysorbates cause cancer in people.
Source: EFSA ANS Panel (2015), full opinion, EFSA Journal Link to this fact
Information, not medical advice. See also: myths we won’t tell you.