Are disposable diapers safe?

In recent days, the ANSES agency:  French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety has launched an alarm on the safety of disposable diapers.

The report, dated January 2019, contains a risk assessment of the chemicals that have been detected in disposable diapers.

It is estimated that in the first years of his life, a child comes into contact with around 4,000 diapers and the substances they contain.

Are these substances safe? According to the Agency, levels of chemical substances have been detected in the diapers that exceed the safety threshold value.

The ANSES assessment was based on analyzes and tests conducted by the Joint Laboratories Service (SCL) and the French National Consumers Institute (INC) between 2016 and 2018 on various diaper brands that were representative of the French market, some of which are present Also in Italy.

This is the first(!!) time in the world that a health and safety agency has carried out a test of this kind on the safety of baby diapers. Better late than never?

What substances were found in disposable diapers?

The chemicals involved included fragrances (butylphenyl methylpropional – Lilial®, hydroxyisohexyl 3-cyclohexene carboxaldehyde – Lyral®), some polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), PCB-126 and all DL PCBs, dioxins and furans.

While fragrances are substances added by some brands to perfume the products, the other substances (DL-PCB, dioxins and furans, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) could derive from the raw materials used to make the diapers or from contaminated production processes.

These substances, once the diapers are soaked in children’s urine, could migrate and come into prolonged contact with their skin, thus exceeding the safety threshold levels in terms of toxicity and carcinogenicity.

At the moment there are no epidemiological studies that highlight links between diseases and the use of “contaminated” diapers. It’s probably time to dig deeper into the matter. It affects the safety of our children.

ANSES recommendations to manufacturers

ANSES recommends eliminating the identified substances or reducing their levels as much as possible and calls for the monitoring of these chemicals in diapers already on the market. Finally, ANSES underlines the need for a stricter regulatory framework for these products.

The document contains the following requests:

• Cease the use of all fragrances, especially those that may cause sensitizing effects on the skin.
• Improve the control of sources of natural raw materials that may be contaminated even before production.
• Improve diaper manufacturing processes.

To ensure that manufacturers have reviewed their manufacturing practices in line with these recommendations, the Agency also recommends stepping up the monitoring of chemicals in disposable diapers already on the market.

Download the complete report of January 2019 of the ANSES agency on the subject of diapers

What can we consumers do?

The disposable diaper market is full of proposals. Check the labels carefully, avoid buying diapers that contain fragrances and check that they use certified raw materials.

The alternative, also given the high polluting power of disposable diapers which take 500 years to degrade, is represented by washable diapers or biodegradable diapers.