Why Is This Carcinogen in Hand Sanitizers?
Benzene is a known human carcinogen, yet still ranks in the top 20 chemicals used in the U.S., based on production volume. 1 Despite its known toxicity, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued temporary guidance in March 2020, allowing it in hand sanitizers at levels up to 2 parts per million (ppm). 2 The allowance was made due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which triggered unprecedented demand for disinfectant products like hand sanitizers. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends using alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol to prevent COVID-19 if soap and water aren’t available. 3 This, combined with panic and fear in the early days of the pandemic, led to shortages of hand sanitizer and supplies weren’t enough to meet consumer demand. As evidence of its increased prevalence, calls to Poison Control related to hand sanitizer increased 79% in March 2020 compared to March 2019. 4 This triggered the FDA to loosen its guidelines for the pr