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Bath products contain cancer causing chemical

04:59 PM MST on Monday, May 21, 2007

(KMOV) -- In your bathroom right now you probably have several bath products like shampoo and bubble bath that contain a cancer causing chemical not even listed on the label.

A new study has raised concern about both adult and children's shampoos.

KMOV-TV coverage

KMOV-TV took some of the products to a chemist to find out how much of a concern this really is.

Some very common bath products for both adults and children have been found to contain a cancer causing chemical.

That's according to a Campaign for Safe Cosmetics report.

We asked chemist Dr. Shelly Minteer exactly what this carcinogen is.

You won't find it on the ingredient label because it's a by product of another chemical that is listed.

The chemical listed is called sodium laureth sulfate.

It's what causes your shampoo and bubble bath to foam, so it's in dozens of products.

The FDA reports that much of the carcinogen, called 1-4 dioxane, evaporates when it's used and doesn't pose a serious threat since the shampoos usually get washed off quickly.

But the FDA sets no limits, so some products contain more of the chemical than others.

Testers found that the highest concentration in a children’s product was found in Hello Kitty bubble bath.

It was also found in Johnson's head to toe baby wash, Huggies baby wash, Disney Pixar Cars Piston Cup bubble bath and Mr. Bubble bath.

If you’re concerned, Dr. Minteer says you can avoid using it.

One was to do so is to use organic bubble bath like California Baby.

It costs $13 a bottle

As for adult products, the highest concentrations were detected in Olay complete body wash with vitamins and Clairol Herbal Essence rainforest flowers shampoo.

Dr. Minteer says it's really up in the air as far as how dangerous this is.

She says more tests need to be conducted.

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