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Data: Robust

Ethylene Oxide

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

SEARCH PRODUCTS

Other Concerns

Use restrictions (high), Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (high), Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (high), and Occupational hazards (high)

SYNONYMS

● ETHYLENE OXIDE
● OXIRANE

Unacceptable

Unacceptable: EWG VERIFIED products cannot contain this ingredient


Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

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

Ingredient concerns

  • CONCERNS
  • DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

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Cancer

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Known human carcinogenNTP Report on Carcinogens, 11th Edition
Known human carcinogenInt'l Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) - Carcinogens
Possible human carcinogenAmer Conf of Gov't Industrial Hygienists - Carcinogens
Possible human carcinogenNTP - Tumor Induction in Mammary Gland
Limited evidence of carcinogenicityNIOSH Occupational Carcinogens
One or more human case studies show possible cancer findingsNTP - Tumor Induction in Mammary Gland
Possible mutagenOpen scientific literature
Cancer - limited evidenceSilent Spring's Mammary Carcinogens Reviews Database

Use restrictions

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Violation of industry recommendations - Unsafe for use in cosmeticsOpen scientific literature
Violation of government restrictions - Banned or found unsafe for use in cosmeticsCanada - Prohibited and Restricted Cosmetics Ingredients

Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Classified as eye, lung, and skin irritantCPS&Q - Classification & Labelling
Human any irritant - strong evidenceOpen scientific literature
Limited evidence of any irritationOpen scientific literature

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Known human respiratory toxicantEPA Hazardous Air Pollutants
Limited evidence of kidney 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
any - weight of evidence unknown/unassessed/unreview: published lit review or major tox studyOpen scientific literature
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

Occupational hazards

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Allowed workplace exposures restricted to low dosesOpen scientific literature
Allowed workplace exposures restricted to high dosesNational Library of Medicine HazMap
Single case study detailing occupational hazardsNational Library of Medicine HazMap

Developmental/reproductive toxicity

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Possible human developmental toxicantCalifornia EPA Proposition 65
Limited evidence of developmental toxicityScorecard.org Toxicity Information

Allergies/immunotoxicity

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Human immune and respiratory toxicant or allergen - strong evidenceAssociation of Occupational and Environmental Clinics
Limited evidence of any toxicity or allergiesOpen scientific literature

Miscellaneous

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

Data gaps

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CONCERN REFERENCE
8483 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed

Neurotoxicity

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CONCERN REFERENCE
any - weight of evidence unknown/unassessed/unreview: published lit review or major tox studyOpen scientific literature

Ecotoxicology

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be an environmental toxinEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Persistence and bioaccumulation

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be bioaccumulativeEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

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
  • 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).
  • ACGIH (American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists) 2008. ACGIH cancer classification system. www.acgih.org.
  • NTP (National Toxicology Program) 2006. Chemicals Associated with Site-Specific Tumor Induction in Mammary Gland.
  • NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health). 2006. NIOSH Carcinogens List (Potential occupational carcinogens). http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npotocca.html.
  • Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
  • Rudel RA, KR Attfield, JN Schifano and JG Brody. Chemicals Causing Mammary Gland Tumors in Animals Signal New Directions for Epidemiology, Chemicals Testing, and Risk Assessment for Breast Cancer Prevention. CANCER Supplement. 2007 Jun 15;109(12):2635-2666.
  • Health Canada. 2007. List of Prohibited and Restricted Cosmetic Ingredients. Canada's Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist. March 2007.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
  • NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2006. HazMap — Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Agents.
  • 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.
  • AOEC (Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics). 2009. AEOC exposures codes and asthmagen designation.
  • 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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