Most babies in Germany are wrapped in disposable diapers. Parents rightly assume that these are not only practical, but completely harmless to health. A recent report by the French Environmental Protection Agency Anses contradicts this assumption.
The Authority relies on analyzes from 2016 and 2018 that tested many diapers on the market in France. According to the report, Anses discovered many dangerous chemicals in the diapers. The concern: The substances could be solved by urine from the diaper, then come into contact with the skin of the baby and cause damage.
Problematic perfume
Some of the substances considered to be problematic deliberately added to the manufacturers: fragrances such as the so-called Lilial. The substance that smells of lilies of the valley, among other things, can cause allergies, irritate the skin and possibly impair fertility.
Others probably come from the raw materials used, such as pesticides proven in diapers, including glyphosate. Others are probably used in the manufacturing process and should ideally no longer be present in the final product.
At least for some substances, the proven quantity is so high that a health risk can not be ruled out, the agency said.
That applies according to Anses for
- two fragrances (Lilial and Lyral),
- some polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, short PAK,
- and the sum of the proven dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs.
For other substances, such as formaldehyde, other fragrances, glyphosate and other pesticides, the levels did not exceed the limits.
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What the agency is proposing now
Anses comes to the conclusion: If dangerous chemicals can be detected in diapers, the current regulations for production are not sufficient. It demands new, stricter regulations.
- In future, fragrances should completely avoid manufacturers - especially those that can cause allergies.
- Producers should also change manufacturing steps, such as replacing certain bleaching chemicals with others.
- Raw materials should be better controlled to exclude impurities.
- For some of the proven substances, such as dioxin-like PCBs, they suggest the technically possible detection limit as the limit in diapers. In other words, they should not actually be in diapers.
- In developing thresholds, they also point out that babies also ingest some of the substances through diet - and diaper limits therefore need to be set accordingly lower.
Which questions remain open
However, this report can not answer a few questions. The extent to which existing diapers in the diaper actually come into contact with the skin and then cause problems, is not yet sufficiently researched and thus currently can not be clarified clearly. Studies are needed here, writes the French authorities.
What the report means for the German market can not be said right now. The Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) does not want to comment on the report because it does not have the data yet.