ACI refutes cleaning product link to breast cancer

Dateline: 28.07.2010
Author: Press release

The American Cleaning Institute has challenged accusations levelled in what is described as a ‘questionable study’ that attempts to link cleaning products to breast cancer.

‘A research piece by the Silent Spring Institute published in the journal Environmental Health far overreaches in its conclusions based on self-reported uses of cleaning products by persons diagnosed with breast cancer,’ according to ACI.

The study, published late July, suggested that using household cleaning products may contribute to an increased risk of women developing breast cancer. The use of cleaners including air fresheners and mould removers doubled the risk of breast cancer in women who used them most often, the study is said to have found. However, products including mothballs, pesticides and insect repellents had little impact on the risks of women developing breast cancer.

“Simply put, this research is rife with innuendo and speculation about the safety of cleaning products and their ingredients,” said Richard Sedlak, ACI’s senior vice president of technical and international affairs. “This is all based on the most cursory look at the scientific literature and the recollection of breast cancer survivors as to the products they used 15 to 20 years ago.

“Although the authors recognise the potential bias in their results, present conflicting findings, and have no real gauge as to the products used by the interviewees so long ago, they proceed to make unscientific assumptions on a very shaky foundation. Unfortunately, this work sheds little light on the real causes of breast cancer.

“The safe and responsible manufacture and use of cleaning products is an absolute top priority within our industry,” Sedlak added. “Further, the plausibility of avoiding cleaning products, as put forth by the researchers, in a world where hygiene and cleanliness are the first barriers to disease prevention, is theoretically plausible, but the adverse effect on public health would be real.”

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ACI refutes cleaning product link to breast cancer