Half of the hand soaps can be hazardous to your health

Kids who wash their handsKids who wash their hands.Photo: Gorm Kallestad / SCANPIX

A test of hand soaps that the Consumer Council has conducted shows that over half of the hand soaps have content that may cause adverse health effects.

The hand soaps that came out worst in the test, either contain substances which may be endocrine disruptors or highly allergenic, the survey shows.
Consumer Director Randi Flesland think it is particularly serious that 13 of the 48 hand soaps that  participated in the test, either contain substances that are suspected endocrine disruptors, or are highly allergenic with substance MI.
– MI cause a risk of anaphylactic reactions, that from next year will be banned in toys for children under three years, as well as in products that will remain on the skin. With the knowledge we have today, we must remove products with MI from our everyday lives. Until then we should at least prevent our kids using them, says Flesland in a statement.
Of the 48 hand soaps,  six contained the types of suspected endocrine disrupters that can contribute to developing cancer and reduce the possibility of having children. Throughout 26 of the soaps allergenic substances were found, and in seven of these the drug MI was found.
– The concern is that over time and in combinations, even tiny amounts can lead to an increased risk of something as serious as cancer and reduced the possibility of having children, says Flesland. 21 of  the hand soaps in the test contained no harmful substances.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today