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Data: Good

Zinc

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

SEARCH PRODUCTS

Other Concerns

Enhanced skin absorption, Persistence and bioaccumulation (moderate), Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (low), and Ecotoxicology (high)

SYNONYMS

● LEAD REFINERY VACUUM ZINC; ZINC; ZINC DUST; ZINC DUST
● ZINC
● ZINC, DISSOLVED
● ZINC, TOTAL
● ZN

Restricted

Restricted: EWG VERIFIED products cannot contain this ingredient without adequate substantiation


Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

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

Ingredient concerns

  • CONCERNS
  • DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

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antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)8 products
antiperspirant/deodorant7 products
eye shadow5 products
lip balm with SPF3 products
facial powder3 products
recreational sunscreen2 products
shampoo2 products
bronzer/highlighter1 products
conditioner1 products
blush1 products
eye liner1 products
toothpaste1 products

Enhanced skin absorption

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Nano-scale ingredients with potential to absorb into the skinOpen scientific literature
Suspected nano-scale ingredients with potential to absorb into the skinNanomaterial Database

Occupational hazards

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Allowed workplace exposures restricted to very low dosesCPS&Q - Classification & Labelling

Persistence and bioaccumulation

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Persistent, bioaccumulative in wildlifeCanada PBTs - Accelerated Reduction/Elimination of Toxics (ARET)
Found to be persistent and bioaccumulative in wildlifeOpen scientific literature
Not suspected to be bioaccumulativeEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Allergies/immunotoxicity

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Limited evidence of immune system toxicity or allergiesScorecard.org Toxicity Information
Limited evidence of any toxicity or allergiesOpen scientific literature

Developmental/reproductive toxicity

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Possible human reproductive or developmental toxinOpen scientific literature
Limited evidence of developmental toxicityScorecard.org Toxicity Information

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Limited evidence of respiratory toxicityScorecard.org Toxicity Information
One or more animal studies show classified as toxic effects at moderate doses (low dose studies may be unavailable for this ingredient)EPA Toxic Release Inventory PBTs
Classified as a low human health priorityEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmfulEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Ecotoxicology

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Wildlife and environmental toxicityEPA Clean Water Act - Priority Pollutants
Not suspected to be an environmental toxinEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Miscellaneous

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Occupational hazards related to handlingCPS&Q - Classification & Labelling

Data gaps

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Insufficient data to determine safetyEPA Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)
119593 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed

Cancer

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Limited or incomplete evidence of cancer according to safety/hazard data – government assessment cannot classify as human carcinogen due to data gapsEPA Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)
  • Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
  • NanoWerk. 2007. Nanomaterial Database. Available online: http://www.nanowerk.com/phpscripts/n_dbsearch.php
  • 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.
  • EC (Environment Canada). 1994. Accelerated Reduction/Elimination of Toxics (ARET). ARET substance list of persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic chemicals.
  • EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
  • ED (Environmental Defense). 2006. Scorecard _ The Pollution Information Site. http://www.scorecard.org.
  • EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). 1999. Toxics Release Inventory Program. PBT Chemical Rule.
  • EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). 2008. Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS). Evidence for human carcinogenicity based on 1986-2005 guidelines.
  • 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 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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