Other Concerns
Use restrictions (high), Persistence and bioaccumulation (moderate), Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (high), Ecotoxicology (low), and Contamination concerns (high)SYNONYMS
Unacceptable
Unacceptable: EWG VERIFIED products cannot contain this ingredient
Coal Tar is a thick liquid or semi-solid obtained as a by-product in the destructive distillation ofbituminous coal. In the United States, Coal Tar may be used as an active ingredient in OTC drugproducts. When used as an active drug ingredien t, the established name is Coal Tar.
Common concerns
See how this product scores for common concerns.
-
HIGHCancer
-
MODERATEAllergies & Immunotoxicity
-
LOWDevelopmental and Reproductive Toxicity
-
HIGHUse Restrictions
Ingredient concerns
- CONCERNS
- DATA SOURCES
Products with this Ingredient
shampoo | 11 products |
hair treatment/serum | 2 products |
Contamination concerns
Chemical |
---|
BENZO[A]PYRENE |
Use restrictions
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Violation of government restrictions - Banned or found unsafe for use in cosmetics | Canada - Prohibited and Restricted Cosmetics Ingredients |
Violation of government restrictions - Banned or found unsafe for use in cosmetics | CosIng |
Restricted in cosmetics (recommendations or requirements) - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - any | Open scientific literature |
Cancer
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Known human carcinogen | EPA Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) |
Known human carcinogen | NTP Report on Carcinogens, 11th Edition |
Known human carcinogen | Int'l Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) - Carcinogens |
Possible human carcinogen | CPS&Q - Classification & Labelling |
Limited evidence of carcinogenicity | NIOSH Occupational Carcinogens |
Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Known human respiratory toxicant | EPA Hazardous Air Pollutants |
Classified as a high human health priority | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Classified as expected to be toxic or harmful | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Allergies/immunotoxicity
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Human skin toxicant or allergen - strong evidence | Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments |
Persistence and bioaccumulation
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Persistent or bioaccumulative and moderate to high toxicity concern in humans | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Not suspected to be bioaccumulative | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Ecotoxicology
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Suspected to be an environmental toxin and be persistent or bioaccumulative | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Suspected to be an environmental toxin | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Data gaps
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Insufficient data to determine safety | Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments |
2749 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical | NLM PubMed |
- Health Canada. 2007. List of Prohibited and Restricted Cosmetic Ingredients. Canada's Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist. March 2007.
- European Commission. 2013. Cosing, the European Commission database with information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. Accessed on March 1, 2013 at http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/cosmetics/cosing/ .
- Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
- EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). 2008. Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS). Evidence for human carcinogenicity based on 1986-2005 guidelines.
- 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).
- CPS&Q (Consumer Products Safety & Quality) formely known as ECB (European Chemicals Bureau). 2008. Classification and Labelling: Chemicals: Annex VI of Directive 67/548/EEC through the 31st ATP.
- NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health). 2006. NIOSH Carcinogens List (Potential occupational carcinogens). http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npotocca.html.
- EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). 2005. Office of Air. The 112(b)1 Hazardous Air Pollutants List (as modified). Last modified: 12 Dec 2005.
- EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
- 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.
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 SCORESHazard 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.
Data availability
The Skin Deep data availability rating reflects the number of scientific studies about the product or ingredient in the published scientific literature.