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"EPA has set 5 ppb [parts per billion] as the maximum permissible level of benzene in drinking water." Only 4 products of the hundreds they tested had a concen

"EPA has set 5 ppb [parts per billion] as the maximum permissible level of benzene in drinking water." Only 4 products of the hundreds they tested had a concentration greater than 5ppb. - artnaturals hand sanitizer SCENT FREE NATURAL ELEMENTS + CLEANSING FORMULA - 16.1ppb - SS LAVENDER & HERBS scented sanitizer ALCOHOL ANTISEPTIC 70% - 13.8ppb - huangjisoo HAND SANITIZER GEL TYPE HAND CLEANSER 62% THANOL 91% ORGANIC - 11.4ppb - TrueWash Instant Hand Sanitizer Natural - 6.2ppb

emeth 6y ago
Friend, I think you added three zeroes. Those four hand sanitizers are listed at the below link with those metrics at PPM (parts per million), not PPB (parts per billion). https://www.valisure.com/wp-content/uploads/Valisure-FDA-Citizen-Petition-on-Hand-Sanitizer-v4.14.pdf https://www.valisure.com/wp-content/uploads/Valisure-FDA-Cit...
cwkoss 6y ago
How easily does benzene travel through the skin? Is it worse to sanitize with 16ppm sanitizer or drink 5ppb water? This study indicates that ~0.25% of benzene permeates skin. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6531855/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6531855/ Sounds like benzene on skin may be 400x less dangerous than the same quantity ingested.
- maddyboo 6y ago
  Also keep in mind that along with the other volatiles, much of the benzene will evaporate into the air after application and you will likely breathe some of that vapor.
lostlogin 6y ago
The contrast between the product name and the product content is just excellent.
gnulinux 6y ago
Total layman here. Question: if 5ppm in drinking water is safe, which would imply we deem it safe to drink unlimited amount of water with 5ppm benzene in it for our entire lives; would it really be problematic to use hand sanitizers with 15ppm (3x) for a few months? (Also considering, as other commenters in this thread say, ingesting benzene through skin is less efficient compared to drinking, according to some claims). I've no idea how they determine safe ranges for these chemicals, but as an engineer, I'm thinking if I were to do something like this, I'd leave some wiggle room. Like if I say 5ppm is safe, but if noticeable amount of people get leukemia with 10ppm, I would consider my job failed. Because 5ppm, although is safe, is too close to the danger zone therefore is not practical. So I'd guess small perturbations around 5ppm would not have noticeable affects (again, I'm a total layman, this is a question, not a claim).
- akiselev 6y ago
  Nit: it's parts per billion, million - only OSHA benzene exposure limits are measured in the millions and that's for industries working with benzene (and only for a short exposures). The kinetics of benzene in drinking water are very different than in hand sanitizer. Carcinogens in general have different risk profiles than other toxins like heavy metals or poisons because localized concentrations can be just as dangerous since a tumor can form and metastasize pretty much anywhere. Asbestos, for example, is much less dangerous in drinking water than in the air because the lubrication provided by water significantly reduces the physical damage caused by the fibers. Benzene (probably [1]) bioaccumulates in skin far more readily than in the digestive tract where the water is a diluting agent that reduces the probability of the benzene sticking around in the body. Since there is a lot less volume of blood flow in the tiny capillaries near the skin and hand sanitizer is designed to evaporate, there's a far higher risk of carcinogenic concentrations of benzene building up, especially around cuts or lesions. It's very plausible that a few mL of sanitizer with ppb concentrations of benzene can accumulate in small microliter pockets of tissue with concentrations in the 10s or 100s of ppm if continually applied throughout the day for months on end. Throw in the rapid pace of reproduction of skin cells and that's a legitimate cause for concern. [1] last I looked, it wasn't well studied in humans, but since benzene is a solvent and known to accumulate in leaves and bark, it strongly implies it has the same effect up and down the food chain.

emeth 6y ago

Friend, I think you added three zeroes. Those four hand sanitizers are listed at the below link with those metrics at PPM (parts per million), not PPB (parts per billion). https://www.valisure.com/wp-content/uploads/Valisure-FDA-Citizen-Petition-on-Hand-Sanitizer-v4.14.pdf https://www.valisure.com/wp-content/uploads/Valisure-FDA-Cit...

cwkoss 6y ago

How easily does benzene travel through the skin? Is it worse to sanitize with 16ppm sanitizer or drink 5ppb water? This study indicates that ~0.25% of benzene permeates skin. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6531855/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6531855/ Sounds like benzene on skin may be 400x less dangerous than the same quantity ingested.

maddyboo 6y ago
Also keep in mind that along with the other volatiles, much of the benzene will evaporate into the air after application and you will likely breathe some of that vapor.

lostlogin 6y ago

The contrast between the product name and the product content is just excellent.

gnulinux 6y ago

Total layman here. Question: if 5ppm in drinking water is safe, which would imply we deem it safe to drink unlimited amount of water with 5ppm benzene in it for our entire lives; would it really be problematic to use hand sanitizers with 15ppm (3x) for a few months? (Also considering, as other commenters in this thread say, ingesting benzene through skin is less efficient compared to drinking, according to some claims). I've no idea how they determine safe ranges for these chemicals, but as an engineer, I'm thinking if I were to do something like this, I'd leave some wiggle room. Like if I say 5ppm is safe, but if noticeable amount of people get leukemia with 10ppm, I would consider my job failed. Because 5ppm, although is safe, is too close to the danger zone therefore is not practical. So I'd guess small perturbations around 5ppm would not have noticeable affects (again, I'm a total layman, this is a question, not a claim).

akiselev 6y ago
Nit: it's parts per billion, million - only OSHA benzene exposure limits are measured in the millions and that's for industries working with benzene (and only for a short exposures). The kinetics of benzene in drinking water are very different than in hand sanitizer. Carcinogens in general have different risk profiles than other toxins like heavy metals or poisons because localized concentrations can be just as dangerous since a tumor can form and metastasize pretty much anywhere. Asbestos, for example, is much less dangerous in drinking water than in the air because the lubrication provided by water significantly reduces the physical damage caused by the fibers. Benzene (probably [1]) bioaccumulates in skin far more readily than in the digestive tract where the water is a diluting agent that reduces the probability of the benzene sticking around in the body. Since there is a lot less volume of blood flow in the tiny capillaries near the skin and hand sanitizer is designed to evaporate, there's a far higher risk of carcinogenic concentrations of benzene building up, especially around cuts or lesions. It's very plausible that a few mL of sanitizer with ppb concentrations of benzene can accumulate in small microliter pockets of tissue with concentrations in the 10s or 100s of ppm if continually applied throughout the day for months on end. Throw in the rapid pace of reproduction of skin cells and that's a legitimate cause for concern. [1] last I looked, it wasn't well studied in humans, but since benzene is a solvent and known to accumulate in leaves and bark, it strongly implies it has the same effect up and down the food chain.