Hidden Hazards: ECHA's Findings On Banned Chemicals In Cosmetic Products

Hidden Hazards: ECHA’s Findings On Banned Chemicals In Cosmetic Products

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ECHA or European Chemicals Agency plays a crucial role in regulating the chemicals that are a potential risk to the environment and human health. One of the products that are greatly concerned with the safety and the awareness of knowing the components composed within is cosmetics. While there are many cosmetic products that are entitled as safe and beneficial for personal care, they still continue to contain hidden components that offer potential risks for health and environment.

Hence, ECHA, an regulatory body, works tirelessly to take necessary steps to establish strict guidelines and eliminate the need of potential health risks. Therefore, as a result ECHA has established a pilot project on the enforcement providing the valuable insights on the chemicals used in the cosmetic product under the ECHA’s Enforcement Forum. This blog explores the chemicals used in the cosmetic products and ECHA’s findings on banned chemicals in them.

Findings Of The ECHA Enforcement Project

The pilot enforcement project from ECHA has recently carried out a regulatory check over nearly 4500 cosmetic products for the potential risk of hazardous chemicals which were thoroughly checked by national enforcement authorities with the 13 EEA countries or European Economic Area. These EEA countries have included chemicals like perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA),  cyclic siloxanes D4 and D5, long-chain perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs), and related substances in the cosmetic products. 

Also, the authorities have also found that around 285 cosmetic products contain chemicals that are completely banned in regard to human health and environment well-being. The substances are,

  1. Perfluorooctylethyl triethoxysilane
  2. Perfluorononyl dimethicone
  3. Cyclopentasiloxane (D5), cyclomethicone (a mixture of D4, D5, and D6), cyclotetrasiloxane (D4)
  4. Perfluorononylethyl carboxydecyl PEG-10 dimethicone

The completely banned materials which were included in the cosmetic products were classified under Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), or as (very) persistent, (very) bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT/vPvB). These chemicals were banned due to their harmful nature for health and environment and even prohibited under the Stockholm Convention on POPs and European Union’s REACH Regulation.

Chemical Nature Of The Substances:

The following highlights the presence of harmful substances present in the chemicals that are present in the cosmetics.

  1. Perfluorononyl dimethicone – It is commonly used in the lip liners and eyeliners.
  2. Cyclopentasiloxane (D5) & cyclotetrasiloxane (D4) – Hair masks and conditioners.

Also, these substances are degraded into PFOA called perfluorooctanoic acid and long-chain perfluorocarboxylic acids which are hazardous to environment and human health while being persistent and can be accumulated by wildlife and humans. The PFOAs are especially concerning due to their increased toxicity leading to reproductive concerns and cancer-related issues. The D4 chemical can lead to fertility damage. 

The Future Step:

As the results suggest that around 6% of hazardous chemicals are included in the cosmetic products, the authorities are taking the initiative to eliminate the non-compliant products from them. However, the authorities have already advised the suppliers to remove the non-compliant chemicals from the products through written format as investigations were processing for half of the cases at the time of inspection. 

This pilot project mentioned specifically targets the enforcement of regulations related to Perfluorocarboxylic Acids (PFCAs), and substances like PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic Acid) and D4/D5 (Siloxanes), which are chemical substances commonly found in cosmetics. The primary aim of the project is to enhance the enforcement of these chemical regulations, ensuring that cosmetics comply with the requirements under REACH compliance and POPs. The project’s inspections in EEA countries were conducted from November 2023 to April 2024.

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