Caution: Air Freshener Chemicals May Be Unsafe

Air freshener manufacturers have agreed for the first time to disclose their products' ingredients to the Environmental Protection Agency, according to the Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council and the Alliance for Healthy Homes.

Environmental and consumer health groups have been pushing for disclosure -- as a first step -- for years, given that independent testing has revealed the presence of controversial chemicals in air fresheners that may be unhealthy.

“For the first time, EPA now knows the main chemical ingredients in air fresheners, the function of each ingredient, and the amount of each chemical released in 2007 into our homes, schools, and offices,” said Jessica Frohman, co-chair of the Sierra Club’s National Toxics Committee. “Now the agency must take the next steps assess the risks posed by these chemicals and take appropriate regulatory action.”

The $1.7 billion industry's voluntary disclosure is the culmination of a legal and bureaucratic battle that began last year. The seven companies whose product information was requested are Blythe, Dial, Lancaster Colony, Procter & Gamble, Redkitt Benckiser, S.C. Johnson and Shell.

Independent testing has revealed the widespread presence of phthalates, which -- while approved by the government for use in a range of consumer products -- have been singled out for concern because the chemical mimics human hormones in laboratory animal tests.

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