Hormone disruptors and chemicals associated with asthma in consumer products

Many everyday products contain hormone disruptors and chemicals associated with asthma. This study set out to learn more about chemicals in common products and whether consumers can avoid these exposures. The study tested 50 types of cleaning, personal care, and other household products for 66 hormone disruptors and chemicals associated with asthma. We found 55 of the chemicals, showing that people are exposed to a wide range of potentially harmful chemicals from common products. People who use multiple products can be exposed to mixtures of compounds, demonstrating the importance of considering the combined health effects of chemicals from different sources. Consumers can avoid some chemicals of concern—including antimicrobials and some fragrances-- in some products by reading labels. Other chemicals cannot be easily avoided, because they are not listed on labels or in online rating systems, which are based on product labels. More complete product labeling would enable consumers to avoid the rest of the target chemicals.