/oss/taxonomy/term/5966/all en /oss/article/health-and-nutrition-you-asked/should-we-worry-about-benzene-personal-care-spray-products <p>Probably not, but such products should not contain benzene and can be formulated without this contaminant. The issue arises because a number of products, including some deodorants, sunscreens, aerosol dry shampoos and athlete’s foot treatments have recently been recalled because they were found to be contaminated with trace amounts of benzene.</p> Fri, 25 Feb 2022 18:42:31 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9038 at /oss /oss/article/health-and-nutrition/benzene-jitters <p>At one time it was used as an aftershave because of its sweet smell.  It was even used to decaffeinate coffee.  Oh my, how times change!  Today we worry about a few parts per billion of benzene in our drinking water, in our soft drinks, in our antiperspirants or sun protection products.  Why?  Because benzene is an established carcinogen and should be avoided.  But benzene also happens to be one of the building blocks of our society.  Traces of it are everywhere.  Given that eliminating benzene from the environment is impossible, what we need is a reasonable risk analysis.  That’s quite a c</p> Thu, 20 Jan 2022 01:26:48 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8995 at /oss