'Forever chemicals' still in use in UK make-up

Major quality brands Urban Decay, Revolution and Inglot are selling make-up successful the UK containing "forever chemicals", BBC News has found.

These pollutants - known arsenic PFAS - person been linked to superior wellness concerns including cancer.

They are not amerciable successful the UK but 5 European countries are expected to suggest an EU-wide prohibition connected Friday.

L'Oréal, which owns Urban Decay, told the BBC it was "well underway" with phasing retired the chemicals.

PFAS, which stands for poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances, are resistant to lipid and water, making them highly invaluable to the make-up industry.

Historically they person been added to products to marque them past longer, amended decorativeness and sphere the colour of eyeshadows and lipsticks.

But a BBC News probe into the UK cosmetics marketplace has identified dozens of products being sold successful the UK inactive containing these toxic chemicals.

Research remains ongoing to find the impacts from little levels of vulnerability - specified arsenic successful make-up - but scientists and politicians are acrophobic adjacent astatine these levels due to the fact that PFAS tin physique up successful the environment.

These substances incorporate beardown bonds which cannot beryllium breached down naturally, truthful arsenic much products are utilized and disposed of e.g. by washing make-up off, PFAS statesman to accumulate successful rivers, ungraded and have adjacent been detected successful quality blood.

Studies exposing animals successful labs to PFAS recovered they caused commencement defects, damaged livers and newborn deaths. Most of these studies person truthful acold tested doses astatine higher levels than those usually recovered successful the environment.

Prof. Miriam Diamond, an biology chemist astatine Toronto University, whose laboratory has antecedently looked astatine contamination successful US cosmetics, told the BBC that consumers should beryllium acrophobic astir low-level contamination successful products due to the fact that of the constricted accusation connected the semipermanent toxic effects.

This imaginable hazard led the Environment Agency (EA) to conduct a review into PFAS usage successful the UK successful 2021.

During that review, the EA asked the manufacture assemblage for cosmetics, the CTPA, to archer it which PFAS compounds were inactive being utilized successful the UK cosmetic manufacture and by which companies.

The CTPA told the EA that 9 PFAS were successful usage but declined to stock the institution names for "commercial reasons".

The EA did not people the names of the 9 PFAS inactive successful usage by the manufacture successful its last report. But a Freedom of Information petition by BBC News into the EA has present revealed them. The BBC searched for them successful thousands of constituent lists of the astir fashionable UK brands and communal merchandise types known to usage PFAS: mascara, eyeshadow, foundation, and lipsticks.

Products produced by Revolution, Inglot and Urban Decay - which is simply a subsidiary of L'Oréal - were recovered to incorporate PFAS called PTFE and Polyperfluoromethylisopropyl Ether. They were being sold crossed aggregate outlets arsenic good arsenic their ain websites.

Examples of products included:

Although PFAS usage remains ineligible successful the UK the Health and Safety Executive is present owed to people an appraisal for the authorities of the wellness risks of PFAS. This follows the EA reappraisal and would beryllium the archetypal measurement successful regulating the chemicals.

Dr Francesca Bevan, chemicals argumentation manager astatine the Marine Conservation Society, which is portion of the radical of NGOs, said they privation regularisation due to the fact that h2o attraction processes aren't presently effectual astatine removing PFAS from wastewater, meaning they get released into our rivers.

She said: "Some PFAS person already been linked to wellness impacts successful marine animals specified arsenic reduced immune, liver, humor and kidney relation successful bottlenose dolphins oregon thyroid hormone disruption successful marine birds, and it's apt lone a substance of clip for different wellness impacts to beryllium recognised."

Industry assemblage the CTPA declined to beryllium interviewed by the BBC connected this contented but said successful a statement: "The cosmetics manufacture welcomes immoderate enactment which volition support the situation and our wellness from harm."

They besides added they had "been moving with the UK Environment Agency for respective years to assistance the bureau amended recognize sources of PFAS chemicals."

But an email speech seen by the BBC successful precocious 2022 betwixt elder advisors astatine the Environment Agency questions the transparency of the industry. In the speech they revealed that: "We person minimal cognition of PFAS usage successful cosmetics."

Mia Davis, vice president of sustainability for Credo quality - which is 1 of galore brands which person prohibited these chemicals - told the BBC that its products amusement "we tin marque beauteous make-up without them".

But Gloria Lu and Victoria Fu, who were erstwhile formulation chemists astatine large quality brands and present tally their ain marque Chemist Confessions which is PFAS-free, said that the manufacture should beryllium wary of a knee-jerk absorption to definite chemicals similar PFAS, arsenic determination whitethorn beryllium regrettable substitutions wherever the replacement chemic has not been tested.

L'Oréal told the BBC that merchandise information was its apical precedence and had successful 2018 made the determination to signifier retired each PFAS. A L'Oréal spokesperson said: "The signifier retired and substitution plans are good underway and we person already removed PFASs from the bulk of our products."

Revolution and Inglot did not respond to the BBC's petition for comment.