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Air Date: Mar 11,
2003
Reporter: Wendy Mesley
Producer: Gaelyne Leslie
Researcher: Louisa Jaslow
Tips on how to find out ingredients of cleaning
products
In
Canada manufacturers and distributors of household cleaning products
are not required by law to list
ingredients on their labels.
If you
are trying to find out what is in a specific product you will have
to do some investigative work.
Start with the basics.
Make sure to read the label first. Some companies voluntarily list
ingredients on their labels. (Keep in mind, though, that they might
be incomplete.)
If there are explosive or poisonous symbols on the label
there is probably at least one chemical in the product.
Follow the instructions. If the label warns to use the
product in a well-ventilated area there is likely a chemical in the
product.
Manufacturers or distributors in Canada are required by law
to provide more information about chemicals used in the workplace.
This information must be included in a Material Safety Data Sheet
(MSDS), which must be provided to the purchaser of the product with
at least the initial shipment of the chemical.
MSDSs
must be obtained and maintained for every chemical used in the
workplace. Companies are required to keep MSDSs that are received
from the manufacturer. The MSDSs must be accessible to all personnel
during their work hours. MSDSs are designed to assess the physical
and health hazards of a chemical or product.
Material Safety Data Sheets list more information about the
chemicals found in workplace products than on consumer product
labels. Some companies have taken the initiative and created sheets
for both workplace cleaning products and consumer cleaning products.
Many
MSDSs can be found on manufacturer’s Web sites. If you are unable to
find one online, some cleaning products list a phone number on their
label, which you can call directly and request that an MSDS be sent
to you by mail, e-mail or fax.
Make
sure the MSDS is the most up-to-date version. Generally, MSDSs
should not be more than a couple years old.
Keep in
mind the law does not require companies to list all the ingredients
of a product on a Material Safety Data Sheets. MSDSs are only
required to list ingredients with acute and chronic health hazards.
Chemicals are tested for their individual health effects. Few
chemicals have ever been tested for their combined health effects
and few chemicals have ever been tested for their health effects on
women and children.
Here
are some suggestions and links about where to find Material Safety
Data Sheets online:
- Do a quick search through your favourite search engine. Key
in, for example, “MSDS Lysol Disinfectant Spray”
- Go directly to the company Web site. Key in, for example,
“Reckitt Benckiser MSDS”
- Many institutions, environmental organizations and
universities have databases of MSDSs.
Here are two Web sites that have larges databases of
MSDSs:
Keep in mind that an MSDSs is just a starting point
in terms of trying to figure out what chemicals are in your cleaning
products. They are written following specific guidelines and list
chemicals, which might mean nothing to you unless you're a chemist.
Here are a few links that can help you begin to understand MSDS
information:
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