Dr. Jekyll and Mr. (Formalde)Hyde

I’m proud to present our newest FemmeToxic.com segment; the FemmeToxic Fact Sheets!  

My name is Nnedimma Nnebe and I am the resident Science Gal (so to speak :P) at the FemmeToxic Headquaters.

In weekly posts, through the FemmeToxic Fact Sheets, you ( the readers) and I will explore high risk compounds currently found in cosmetics.  I will present both the scientific and societal backgrounds of these compounds. For the most part, I will be discussing compounds currently on the Health Canada Hot List (be sure to check out the Hot List; a useful ally for informed consumers!).

So first on the list this week is formaldehyde, a compound long associated with high school dissections and CSI.

 However, as we shall discover together during the upcoming weeks, formaldehyde a naturally occurring colorless gas with a large array of industrial uses, is found in our cosmetics, most notably in nail polishes, nail hardeners, shampoos, and hair streghtners.

 Not  too long ago formaldehyde was yet again linked with public health considerations, this time it had to do with the safety of young children exposed to formaldehyde through cutaneous (skin) exposure. The culprit; Johnson & Johnson shampoo, contained alarming  amounts of a formaldehyde releasing compound (quaternium-15). This incident was recently discussed here, be sure to read it!

This event follows the recent recognition by the EPA this summer, that formaldehyde has probable carcinogenic properties. However, despite having been recognized as a significant risk to consumer safety, the complete removal of formaldehyde from cosmetics products has been met with considerable resistance from the chemical industry.

WHY?  This is a question that many organizations that champion consumer safety frequently ask companies such as Georgia- Pacific (owned by the infamous Koch Brothers, more on them later!).  Indeed, this reluctance to do without formaldehyde whilst disregarding public safety considerations has forever plagued this now notorious compound. 

Research documenting the adverse effects of formaldehyde has been available since the 1940s. Indeed, formaldehyde, a naturally occurring aldehyde, has been recognized as a mutagen since the late 1940s. Pioneering studies by Englesber et.al 1951 and Kaplan et.al 1948 were the first to study formaldehyde’s mutagenic effects on bacteria and on mice respectively.

A mutagen is a chemical or physical agent that mutates an organism’s genetic material at the cellular level. Mutagens are almost always considered carcinogens. In fact, cancer at its most basic level is a mutation brought upon by chemical and physical agents in the environment that triggers uninhibited cellular division. The aggregation of mutated cells capable of such uninhibited division is what we call a tumour.

 Formaldehyde was additionally recognized as a potential carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as early as 1981. Agencies such as the IARC, classify compound as potential carcinogens, until enough research is amassed to say without a doubt that the compound is definitely a carcinogen. Numerous case studies are then conducted,collected, and compiled by the IARC (1981, 1987, 1994, 2006) in order to reach this goal. It was finally identified as a carcinogen internationally in 2006. 

In summary, since the late 1940s, formaldehyde has been recognized as a mutagen, and since 1981 is has been recognized as a potential carcinogen but it wasn’t until 2006 (IARC) and 2011 that it was recognized as a probable (!) carcinogen by the EPA…… 

 In the next segment, we shall turn to the history of formaldehyde in the chemical industry and the active lobbying that impeded the implementation of any regulations restricting its use.