Breast Cancer Related Chemicals in Ingredient Lists of Personal Care Products: A Big Data Crowdsourcing Approach

Abstract

BackgroundChemicals found in personal care and beauty products have been associated with endocrine disruption and cancer. Consumers seeking product information online often lack information as to the presence of chemicals identified on hazard lists.Aims(A) Assess the prevalence of breast cancer related chemicals in personal care and beauty products sold by online retailers.(B) Develop a data analytics platform for future research on environmental contaminants in products.(C) Provide a decision supporting tool for consumers assisting in safer product selection.MethodsWe developed an internet browser extension for consumer shopping for products online. Using this extension, we crowdsourced ingredient lists of 8,091 personal care and beauty products, offered by online U.S. retailers between July and October 2019. Approximately 190,000 ingredient names were isolated and matched against 15 authoritative hazard (toxicology) datasets. We tagged toxicants as breast cancer related if they were previously identified as mammary gland carcinogens in rodent studies or estrogen receptor agonists in high-throughput assays.ResultsOf the 8,091 products scanned, 120 contained at least one of 19 known or suspected carcinogens, including two breast cancer related chemicals. 1,455 products contained at least one of 19 estrogen receptor agonists. Approximately 40% of the products contained ingredients prone to trace contamination by breast cancer related carcinogens: ethoxylated ingredients (1,4-dioxane, potential manufacturing byproduct, 3,026 products); petrolatum (PAHs, potential refining residue, 214 products); polyacrylamides (acrylamide, potential residual monomer, 168 products); butane or isobutane (1,3-butadiene, potential refining residue, 71 products).ConclusionsPersonal care products sold online in (and exported from) the US may expose consumers to breast cancer related ingredients and trace contaminants. Many of the toxicants identified here are banned in cosmetics or restricted as residual trace contaminants in Canada and the EU but allowed in the US.