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HYDROQUINONE
Score:
Data: Good
- Other Concerns
- Functions
- About the Chemical
- Synonyms
-
Use restrictions (high), Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (high), and Ecotoxicology (low)
Cancer 
Cancer: Ingredients linked to cancer in government, industry or academic studies or assessments.
Developmental & Reproductive Toxicity
Developmental and reproductive toxicity: Ingredients linked to developmental and reproductive toxicity, a broad class of health effects that range from infertility and reproductive organ cancers to birth defects and developmental delays in children.
Allergies & Immunotoxicity
Allergies and immunotoxicity: Ingredients linked to harm to the immune system, a class of health problems that manifest as allergic reactions or an impaired capacity to fight disease and repair damaged tissue in the body.
Products with this Ingredient
| skin fading/lightener | 4 products |
| facial moisturizer/treatment | 4 products |
| nail glue | 1 products |
| moisturizer | 1 products |
| antiperspirant/deodorant (men's) | 1 products |
Use restrictions
| Concern | Reference |
|---|---|
| Violation of government restrictions - Banned or found unsafe for use in cosmetics | CosIng |
| Violation of industry recommendations - Restricted in cosmetics; use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - Safe for brief discontinuous use followed by thorough rinsing | Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments |
| Restricted in cosmetics (recommendations or requirements) - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - Use is restricted in Canadian cosmetics | Canada - Prohibited and Restricted Cosmetics Ingredients |
| Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - any | CTFA International Cosmetic Ingredient Dictionary and Handbook |
| Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - Safe for use in cosmetics with some qualifications | Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments |
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 |
| One or more animal studies show classified as toxic effects at low doses | EPA Categorized List of Inert Pesticide Ingredients |
| Limited evidence of sense organ toxicity | Scorecard.org Toxicity Information |
| Limited evidence of cardiovascular or blood toxicity | National Library of Medicine HazMap |
| 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 |
Allergies/immunotoxicity
| Concern | Reference |
|---|---|
| Human skin toxicant or allergen - strong evidence | EWG Assessment of Open Scientific Literature |
| Human skin toxicant or allergen - strong evidence | Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments |
| Limited evidence of immune system toxicity or allergies | Scorecard.org Toxicity Information |
| Limited evidence of immune system toxicity or allergies | National Library of Medicine HazMap |
Cancer
| Concern | Reference |
|---|---|
| Limited evidence of carcinogenicity | CPS&Q - Classification & Labelling |
| Limited evidence of carcinogenicity | Amer Conf of Gov't Industrial Hygienists - Carcinogens |
| Cancer - limited evidence | Scorecard.org Toxicity Information |
| Cancer - limited evidence | CTFA International Cosmetic Ingredient Dictionary and Handbook |
| Limited or incomplete evidence of cancer according to safety/hazard data – government assessment cannot classify as human carcinogen due to data gaps | Int'l Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) - Carcinogens |
Developmental/reproductive toxicity
| Concern | Reference |
|---|---|
| Limited evidence of reproductive toxicity | Scorecard.org Toxicity Information |
Ecotoxicology
| Concern | Reference |
|---|---|
| Wildlife and environmental toxicity | CPS&Q - Classification & Labelling |
| Suspected to be an environmental toxin | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Data gaps
| 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 product | Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments |
| 6109 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical | NLM PubMed |
Informational
| Concern | Reference |
|---|---|
| Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - Safe for brief discontinuous use followed by thorough rinsing | Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments |
Persistence and bioaccumulation
| Concern | Reference |
|---|---|
| Not suspected to be persistent | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
| Not suspected to be bioaccumulative | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Data Sources
- 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/ .
- CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review). 2006. CIR Compendium, containing abstracts, discussions, and conclusions of CIR cosmetic ingredient safety assessments. Washington DC.
- Health Canada. 2007. List of Prohibited and Restricted Cosmetic Ingredients. Canada's Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist. March 2007.
- CTFA (Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association). 2006. International Cosmetic Ingredient Dictionary and Handbook, 11th Edition. Color Additive Information. Washington, DC.
- 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.
- EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). 1987 & 2005. Office of Pesticide Programs. Inert (other) Pesticide Ingredients in Pesticide Products - Categorized List of Inert (other) Pesticide Ingredients.
- ED (Environmental Defense). 2006. Scorecard _ The Pollution Information Site. http://www.scorecard.org.
- NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2006. HazMap — Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Agents.
- EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). 1999. Toxics Release Inventory Program. PBT Chemical Rule.
- EWG Assessment of Open Scientific Literature
- 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.
- ACGIH (American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists) 2008. ACGIH cancer classification system. www.acgih.org.
- 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).
- NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2012. PubMed online scientific bibliography data. http://www.pubmed.gov.
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