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Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety
Summary sheet on Commission
Review (ref. XXIV/1991/97)
Ingredient : 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin
CAS n° : 1746-01-6
Function and max in use concentration : no use; impurity found in herbicides and defoliants.
Classification: 2a (See Classification of Substances)
SCCNFP Opinion
TCDD is a very highly toxic contaminant in trichlorophenol and derived products.
It is persistent in the environment and accumulates in biological systems. In man, TCDD has an elimination half life of several years and may thus exhibit cumulative toxicity. It has been found in human milk.
TCDD is extremely toxic for all animal species tested. It is one of the more potent carcinogens and promoters known in experimental animals. It has induced dose- dependent liver and thyroid tumours in rats and mice and squamous cell carcinomas in hamsters. TCDD has demonstrated teratogenic and foetotoxic effects in rodents at very low doses.
The SCCNFP is of the opinion that cosmetic ingredients containing TCDD, even as an impurity, must be avoided.
Statement on the toxicological evaluation
The SCCNFP is the scientific advisory body to the European Commission in matters of consumer protection with respect to cosmetics and non-food products intended for consumers.
The Commission's general policy regarding research on animals supports the development of alternative methods to replace or to reduce animal testing when possible. In this context, the SCCNFP has a specific working group on alternatives to animal testing which, in co-operation with other Commission services such as ECVAM (European Centre for Validation of Alternative Methods), evaluates these methods.
SCCNFP opinions include evaluations of experiments using laboratory animals; such tests are conducted in accordance with all legal provisions and preferably under chemical law regulations. Only in cases where no alternative method is available will such tests be evaluated and the resulting data accepted, in order to meet the fundamental requirements of the protection of consumer health.
Ingredient : 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin
CAS n° : 1746-01-6
Function and max in use concentration : no use; impurity found in herbicides and defoliants.
Classification: 2a (See Classification of Substances)
SCCNFP Opinion
TCDD is a very highly toxic contaminant in trichlorophenol and derived products.
It is persistent in the environment and accumulates in biological systems. In man, TCDD has an elimination half life of several years and may thus exhibit cumulative toxicity. It has been found in human milk.
TCDD is extremely toxic for all animal species tested. It is one of the more potent carcinogens and promoters known in experimental animals. It has induced dose- dependent liver and thyroid tumours in rats and mice and squamous cell carcinomas in hamsters. TCDD has demonstrated teratogenic and foetotoxic effects in rodents at very low doses.
The SCCNFP is of the opinion that cosmetic ingredients containing TCDD, even as an impurity, must be avoided.
Statement on the toxicological evaluation
The SCCNFP is the scientific advisory body to the European Commission in matters of consumer protection with respect to cosmetics and non-food products intended for consumers.
The Commission's general policy regarding research on animals supports the development of alternative methods to replace or to reduce animal testing when possible. In this context, the SCCNFP has a specific working group on alternatives to animal testing which, in co-operation with other Commission services such as ECVAM (European Centre for Validation of Alternative Methods), evaluates these methods.
SCCNFP opinions include evaluations of experiments using laboratory animals; such tests are conducted in accordance with all legal provisions and preferably under chemical law regulations. Only in cases where no alternative method is available will such tests be evaluated and the resulting data accepted, in order to meet the fundamental requirements of the protection of consumer health.
