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About That Clean, Fresh Scent . . .
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For most healthy adults, slight exposure to toxic or hazardous chemicals is probably not much of a health concern, said Lance Wallace, a retired EPA scientist who is collaborating with Steinemann. But up to 30 percent of people are sensitive to perfumes and other fragrances, he pointed out.
Studies in Denmark and the United States have confirmed that even healthy college students report headaches, eye irritation and other effects when exposed to a mix of volatile organic compounds.
When Steinemann and a colleague surveyed more than 2,000 people in 2004 and 2005, they found 20 percent were in some way sickened by air fresheners. For those with asthma, the figures were nearly twice as high: Up to 37 percent reported headaches or trouble breathing.
Studies conducted by the industry-funded Research Institute for Fragrance Materials have generally reported few health effects.
Children are more sensitive to chemical exposure than adults, said Steve Gilbert, founder of Toxipedia.org, a clearinghouse of information on toxic chemicals. And people are usually exposed to a stew of substances, which could interact in unknown ways.
"At the very minimum, we should have a right to know what is in these products," said Gilbert, a Seattle toxicologist who was not involved in the study.
Manufacturers are not required to list the ingredients used in air fresheners, laundry products or most other consumer products, Steinemann said in her study, published in the journal Environmental Impact Assessment Review.
"There needs to be more testing of these products and greater disclosure . . . so that people know what they're being exposed to," she said.
Steinemann wouldn't name the specific products tested, partly out of fear of industry lawsuits. She also said it would be unfair to single out specific companies at this point. A larger analysis, which looked at 25 products, found many other brands contain similar chemicals. The second study is under review and will be published next year.
Her advice for people who want to reduce their exposure is to avoid use of air fresheners and buy fragrance-free laundry products.
But even that's no guarantee, she pointed out. Some products marketed as "unscented" or "fragrance-free" actually contain the same chemicals as scented products -- with the addition of a "masking fragrance" that cancels out the smell.
And many products labeled "natural" or "organic" also contain some of the same chemicals.
