NRDC Issues Warning Concerning Air Fresheners

The National Resources Defense Council has issued a warning concerning chemicals in household air fresheners that could affect hormones and reproductive development, mostly in babies. The Natural Resources Defense Council is a national, nonprofit organization whose members are scientists, lawyers and environmental specialists. They are dedicated to protecting public health and the environment.

Right now, the federal government does not test air fresheners for anything at all. This study was done to get information out to both consumers and the government alike about the risk that there are in certain air fresheners.

The NRDC tested 14 different brands of household air fresheners that are available in a variety of stores. The results showed that 12 out of the 14 contained the hormone-disrupting chemicals known as phthalates. The two that did not have any detectable levels of the chemicals are Febreze Air Effects and Renuzit Subtle Effects.

Of the ones that tested positive, there were some claiming to be all natural and unscented. Most disturbing of all is the fact that none of them had phthalates in the list of ingredients or anywhere else for that matter. The three that had the
highest level of phthalates were Walgreens Air Freshener, Walgreens Scented Bouquet, and Ozium Glycolized Air Sanitizer.

They say that this should be of some concern to the public, but there is no need to panic due to the fact that these chemicals are at a greater risk when there has been long term and repeated exposure.

Because of the results of the study, the NRDC in conjunction with other organizations, namely the Sierra Club, Alliance for Healthy Homes and the National Center for Healthy Housing, are going to file a petition to the EPA as well as the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) today.

In the petition, they call for the EPA and CPSC to begin an assessment of the possible risks from air fresheners and to do it by testing all of the air freshener products on the market today. The NRDC says they would like to work with the air freshener industry in order to help them find a way to eliminate the phthalates from the products.