A recent study sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published this month concluded that the U.S. EPA assessment of the potential health effects assocaitedw ith formaldehyde exposure needs substantial revision. Formadelhyde exposure is related to a number of health risks such as cancers and genetic mutations but most alarming is the possible link with infertility.
The study was sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Pre-publication copies of Review of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Draft IRIS Assessment of Formaldehyde are available from the National Academies Press: http://www.nap.edu.
After I read the study, I started to ask myself, is it possible that I am exposing myself to formaldehyde? So I started doing some research. There is a preservative called quarternium-15 that acts as a formaldehyde releaser. It is used in shampoos and other cosemtics such as foundations, powders, blush, mascaras, eye shadows, and eye liners. You can also find it in cleaning products, and skin care products. I went through all my products at home and was shocked to find that it was in the most expensive line of cosmetics that I own. I couldn’t find any of the other formaldehyde-releasing agents in any of my other shampoos or cosmetics.
Other formaldehyde-releasing agents include: Quaternium-15 or chloroallyl methenamine chloride; hexamethylenetetramine chloroallyl chloride; 3,5,7-triaza-1-azoniaadamantane, 1-(3-chloroallyl)-, chloride; N-(3-chloroallyl) hexaminium chloride · Formaldehyde or formalin; formic aldehyde; oxymethylene · Bronopol or 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3-diol · Diazolidinyl urea or N,N’-bis(hydroxymethyl) urea; 1-(1,3-bis(hydroxymethyl)-2,5-dioxoimidazolidin-4-yl)-1,3-bis(hydroxymethyl)urea · DMDM Hydantoin or 1,3-cimethylol-5,5-dimethylhydantoin; 1,3-Bis(hydroxymethyl)-5,5-dimethylimidazolidine-2,4-dione · Imidazolidinyl urea or imidurea; or N,N”-methylenebis(N’-(3-(hydroxymethyl)-2,5-dioxo-4-imidazolidinyl)urea · Tris nitro or trimethylolnitromethane; 2-nitro-2-(hydroxymethyl)-1,3-propanediol; tris(hydroxymethyl) nitromethane; nitroisobutylglycerol
For additional information about products that might contain quaternium-15 or a related substance, go to the Household Product Database online (http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov) at the United States National Library of Medicine. These are general guidelines. Also check out: http://www.cosmeticsinfo.org/. Talk to your doctor for more specific instructions.
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