Aerosol Products At Higher Risk For Benzene, Says Scientist Who Spurred Recalls

By Kate Gibson, CBS Dallas/Fort Worth

October 26, 2022

Unilever is recalling dry shampoo aerosol products sold nationwide because they may contain elevated levels of benzene, a human carcinogen. The recall is the latest of half a dozen so far this year, with the cancer-causing chemical showing up in products including deodorant, hand sanitizer and sunscreen.

People should take the benzene-related recalls seriously, as they involve a far more dangerous contaminant than most, according to David Light, CEO of Valisure, an independent lab in New Haven, Connecticut, that alerted the Food and Drug Administration to its findings of benzene in sunscreen sprays last year.

"Benzene is such a bad molecule — it's at the very top of the FDA's list of 70-some solvents not to use," Light told CBS MoneyWatch, adding that unlike with some chemicals, "there's no argument about whether or not it causes cancer in human beings."

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