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Data: Robust

Bha

  • This ingredient’s score is higher if used in products intended for use on lips due to increased risk of ingestion and absorption.

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

SEARCH PRODUCTS

Other Concerns

Endocrine disruption (moderate), Persistence and bioaccumulation (moderate), Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (moderate), and Ecotoxicology (low)

SYNONYMS

● BUTYLHYDROXYANISOL
● (1,1-DIMETHYLETHYL)-4-METHOXY- PHENOL
● (1,1-DIMETHYLETHYL)-4-METHOXYPHENOL
● 1,1-DIMETHYLETHYL-4-METHOXYPHENOL
● BHA
● BUTYLATED HYDROXYANISOLE
● BUTYLATED HYDROXYANISOLE; BHA
● BUTYLHYDROXYANISOL
● PHENOL, (1,1-DIMETHYLETHYL)-4-METHOXY-
● PHENOL, (1,1DIMETHYLETHYL)4METHOXY
● TERT-BUTYL-4-METHOXYPHENOL

Unacceptable

Unacceptable: EWG VERIFIED products cannot contain this ingredient


BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) is a preservative and stabilizer; U.S. National Toxicology Program, a part of the National Institutes of Health, has classified BHA as "reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen" based on evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

  • MODERATE
    Cancer
  • MODERATE
    Allergies & Immunotoxicity
  • LOW
    Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity
  • LOW
    Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

  • CONCERNS
  • DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

Expand content Collapse content
nail glue42 products
eye liner20 products
eye shadow17 products
hair color and bleaching10 products
hair treatment/serum6 products
facial moisturizer/treatment5 products
serums & essences5 products
shaving cream3 products
moisturizer3 products
body oil3 products
shampoo2 products
styling mousse/foam2 products
mask2 products
hand cream2 products
around-eye cream2 products
diaper cream2 products
conditioner2 products
lipstick2 products
styling gel/lotion1 products
lip balm1 products
mascara1 products
facial cleanser1 products
makeup remover1 products
daily use with SPF1 products
nail polish1 products

Endocrine disruption

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Human endocrine disruptor - strong evidenceEuropean Commission on Endocrine Disruption
One or more studies show significant wildlife and the environment disruptionEuropean Commission on Endocrine Disruption
endocrine - weight of evidence unknown/unassessed/unreview: published lit review or major tox studyOur Stolen Future Endocrine Disruptors
endocrine - weight of evidence unknown/unassessed/unreview: published lit review or major tox studyIllinois EPA Chemicals Associated with Endocrine System

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Classified as a high human health priorityEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmfulEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Cancer

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Possible human carcinogenCalifornia EPA Proposition 65
Possible human carcinogenNTP Report on Carcinogens, 11th Edition
Limited evidence of carcinogenicityInt'l Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) - Carcinogens

Persistence and bioaccumulation

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Persistent, bioaccumulative in wildlifeOSPAR PBTs - Substances of Possible Concern
Not suspected to be bioaccumulativeEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Not suspected to be persistentEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Allergies/immunotoxicity

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CONCERN REFERENCE
One or more human case studies show significant any or allergenic effectsNational Library of Medicine HazMap

Ecotoxicology

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Wildlife and environmental toxicityIllinois EPA Chemicals Associated with Endocrine System
Not suspected to be an environmental toxinEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Data gaps

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Risk assessment method deficiencies and data gaps - Maximum reported "as used" concentration is basis of safety assessment by industry safety panel (Cosmetic Ingredient Review, CIR) - implicit safe concentration limit in productCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments
2332 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed

Informational

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - anyCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Multiple, additive exposure sources

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in foodFDA Everything Added to Food
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in foodFDA Food Additive Status
  • EU (European Union)- Strategy for Endocrine Disrupters 2007. Commision on endocrin disruption requested by the European Parliament in 1998.
  • Colborn T, D Dumanoski, JP Myers. 2006. Widespread Pollutants with Endocrine-disrupting Effects. Updated from original listing in "Our Stolen Future" (1996).
  • Illinois EPA (Illinois Environmental Protection Agency). 2000. Preliminary list of chemicals associated with endocrine system effects in animals and humans (*) or in vitro (+). In EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) 2000. Handbook for Non-Cancer Health Effects Valuation, Appendix C.
  • EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
  • California EPA (California Environmental Protection Agency). 9/2008. Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986. Chemicals known to the State to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity.
  • NTP (National Toxicology Program). 2005. Report on Carcinogens, Eleventh Edition; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, National Toxicology Program.
  • IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer). 2008. Overall Evaluations of Carcinogenicity to Humans, as evaluated in IARC Monographs Volumes 1-99 (a total of 935 agents, mixtures and exposures).
  • OSPAR (Oslo-Paris). 2002. OSPAR List of Substances of Possible Concern. Secondary OSPAR List of Substances of Possible Concern. Secondary OSPAR. Place Published, OSPAR Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environement of North-East Atlanic.
  • NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2006. HazMap — Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Agents.
  • CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review). 2006. CIR Compendium, containing abstracts, discussions, and conclusions of CIR cosmetic ingredient safety assessments. Washington DC.
  • NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2012. PubMed online scientific bibliography data. http://www.pubmed.gov.
  • FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration). 2008. EAFUS [Everything Added to Food]: A Food Additive Database. FDA Office of Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.
  • FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) 2006. Food Additive Status List. Downloaded from http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/%7Edms/opa-appa.html, Oct 16, 2006.

Understanding scores

Cosmetics and personal care products are not required to be tested for safety before being allowed on the market. The Skin Deep® scoring system was designed to help the public understand whether a product is safe to use or whether it contains ingredients of concern.

Every product and ingredient in Skin Deep gets a two-part score – one for hazard and one for data availability. The safest products score well by both measures, with a low hazard rating and a fair or better data availability rating.

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES

Hazard score

The Skin Deep ingredient hazard score, from 1 to 10, reflects known and suspected hazards linked to the ingredients. The EWG VERIFIED® mark means a product meets EWG’s strictest criteria for transparency and health.

Score legend

Data availability

The Skin Deep data availability rating reflects the number of scientific studies about the product or ingredient in the published scientific literature.

NONE LIMITED FAIR GOOD ROBUST
Low Availability
Moderate Availability
High Availability

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