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METHYLCHLOROISOTHIAZOLINONE
Score:
Data: Fair
- Other Concerns
- Functions
- About the Chemical
- Synonyms
-
Use restrictions (high), Ecotoxicology (low), and Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (moderate)
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
| shampoo | 182 products |
| conditioner | 152 products |
| body wash/cleanser | 138 products |
| liquid hand soap | 104 products |
| hair color and bleaching | 52 products |
| mask | 20 products |
| bubble bath | 16 products |
| facial cleanser | 15 products |
| bath oil/salts/soak | 9 products |
| hair treatment/serum | 5 products |
| moisturizer | 5 products |
| shaving cream | 3 products |
| exfoliant/scrub | 3 products |
| beach & sport sunscreen | 2 products |
| detangler | 2 products |
| hand sanitizer | 1 products |
| mascara | 1 products |
| body powder | 1 products |
| styling gel/lotion | 1 products |
| facial moisturizer/treatment | 1 products |
| body firming lotion | 1 products |
| hair styling aide | 1 products |
| beard cleanser | 1 products |
| baby shampoo | 1 products |
Use restrictions
| Concern | Reference |
|---|---|
| Violation of government restrictions - Banned or found unsafe for use in cosmetics | Canada - Prohibited and Restricted Cosmetics Ingredients |
| The mixture of MCIT:MIT in a ratio of 3:1 does not pose a risk to the health of the consumer when used as a preservative up to a maximum authorised concentration of 0.0015 % in rinse-off cosmetic products, apart from its sensitising potential. | European SCCS 2009. Opinion on the mixture of 5-chloro-2-methylisothiazolin-3(2H)-one and 2-methylisothiazolin-3(2H)-one. SCCS/1238/09. December 2009. http://ec.europa.eu/health/scientific_committees/consumer_safety/docs/sccs_o_009.pdf |
| Restricted in cosmetics (recommendations or requirements) - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - Use is restricted in Canadian cosmetics | Canada - Prohibited and Restricted Cosmetics Ingredients |
| Restricted in cosmetics (recommendations or requirements) - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - Japan - concentration limit in some types of cosmetics when combined with certain other ingredient(s) | Japan's Standards for Cosmetics |
| Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - Safe for use in cosmetics with some qualifications | Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments |
Allergies/immunotoxicity
| Concern | Reference |
|---|---|
| Human skin toxicant or allergen - strong evidence | Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments |
| Limited evidence of immune system toxicity or allergies | Nordic Council of Ministers (Nordic Allergy Project) Kriteriedokumenter fra nordisk allergiprojekt - vurdering af 50 kemiske stoffers evne til at forarsage allergi, en litteraturgennemgang. Nord 1991:51. Copenhagen, 1991.; Swedish National Chemicals Inspectorate. Labelling of chemical products, Swedish regulations and general advice with regard to the classification and labelling of chemical products hazardous to health, flammables and explosives. List of Allergenic Substances. National Chemicals Inspectorate, Solna, Sweden. 1987, 1990-1992. |
| A review article reports that this substance causes contact allergies. | Lundov MD, T Krongaard, T L Menné & J D Johansen 2011. Methylisothiazolinone contact allergy: a review. The British journal of dermatology 165(6), 1178-82. |
| A case report finds 6 American children using wet wipes with MIT tested positive for MCI/MIT skin allergy. | Chang MW, Nakrani R 2014. Six children with allergic contact dermatitis to methylisothiazolinone in wet wipes (baby wipes). Pediatrics. 133(2):e434-8. |
| Limited evidence of immune system toxicity or allergies | National Library of Medicine HazMap |
Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)
| Concern | Reference |
|---|---|
| NIOSH reports that this substance is a skin irritant. | NIOSH (Cook CK, Friedman D) 1996. Health Hazard Evaluation Report, HEA 94–0402–2573. National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety. |
Cancer
| Concern | Reference |
|---|---|
| The peer-reviewed study reports methylchloroisothiazolinone is mutagenic | Connor TH, Tee PG, Afshar M, Connor KM 1996. Mutagenicity of cosmetic products containing Kathon. Environmental and molecular mutagenesis 28(2), 127-32. |
Ecotoxicology
| Concern | Reference |
|---|---|
| The US EPA reports the LC50 value is very toxic to aquatic life. | US. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 1998. Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED) Methylisothiazolinone. EPA738-R-98-012. |
| Not 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 |
| 232 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical | NLM PubMed |
Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)
| Concern | Reference |
|---|---|
| Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmful | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
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
- Health Canada. 2007. List of Prohibited and Restricted Cosmetic Ingredients. Canada's Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist. March 2007.
- European SCCS 2009. Opinion on the mixture of 5-chloro-2-methylisothiazolin-3(2H)-one and 2-methylisothiazolin-3(2H)-one. SCCS/1238/09. December 2009. http://ec.europa.eu/health/scientific_committees/consumer_safety/docs/sccs_o_009.pdf
- Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. 2006. Standards for Cosmetics. Evaluation and Licensing Division. Pharmaceutical and Food Safety Bureau.
- CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review). 2006. CIR Compendium, containing abstracts, discussions, and conclusions of CIR cosmetic ingredient safety assessments. Washington DC.
- Nordic Council of Ministers (Nordic Allergy Project) Kriteriedokumenter fra nordisk allergiprojekt - vurdering af 50 kemiske stoffers evne til at forarsage allergi, en litteraturgennemgang. Nord 1991:51. Copenhagen, 1991.; Swedish National Chemicals Inspectorate. Labelling of chemical products, Swedish regulations and general advice with regard to the classification and labelling of chemical products hazardous to health, flammables and explosives. List of Allergenic Substances. National Chemicals Inspectorate, Solna, Sweden. 1987, 1990-1992.
- Lundov MD, T Krongaard, T L Menné & J D Johansen 2011. Methylisothiazolinone contact allergy: a review. The British journal of dermatology 165(6), 1178-82.
- Chang MW, Nakrani R 2014. Six children with allergic contact dermatitis to methylisothiazolinone in wet wipes (baby wipes). Pediatrics. 133(2):e434-8.
- NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2006. HazMap — Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Agents.
- NIOSH (Cook CK, Friedman D) 1996. Health Hazard Evaluation Report, HEA 94–0402–2573. National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety.
- Connor TH, Tee PG, Afshar M, Connor KM 1996. Mutagenicity of cosmetic products containing Kathon. Environmental and molecular mutagenesis 28(2), 127-32.
- US. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 1998. Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED) Methylisothiazolinone. EPA738-R-98-012.
- EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
- NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2012. PubMed online scientific bibliography data. http://www.pubmed.gov.
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