Benzoyl Peroxide

CAS Number: 94-36-0

SERIOUS
health hazard

MODERATE
health hazard

FEW OR NO
health hazards

0 79
80 89
90 100
85

Sources of exposure:

Personal care
Medications
Industrial uses

Dental resins

Description:

Benzoyl peroxide is an organic peroxide commonly used in acne treatments for its antibacterial and exfoliating properties. It is found in medicated creams, gels, and cleansers. It is also used as a polymerization initiator in the manufacture of plastics and resins.

Health concerns:

Immunotoxicity & Allergens

May impact immune system function or cause allergic reactions.

Irritant

May cause skin, eye, or respiratory irritation.

Ecotoxicity

May be toxic to ecosystems and wildlife.

Banned/restricted lists:

  • EU Cosmetics Regulation Annex III - Restricted

References

  1. US Environmental Protection Agency. Cheminformatics Modules, Computational Toxicology and Exposure Informatics (CompTox).
  2. US National Library of Medicine. PubChem database.

HOW MILLION MARKER SCORES CHEMICALS

Million Marker's Ingredient Hazard Scoring uses multiple chemical databases and a science-backed scoring system to compute hazard scores for thousands of chemicals found in consumer products and listed on ingredient labels.

We identified key chemicals based on a database compiling dozens of authoritative sources, screening tools, and QSAR models.

Hazard scores within 11 different health categories (carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, reproductive toxicants, developmental toxicants, genotoxicity, neurotoxicity, organ system toxicity, immunotoxicity, respiratory toxicity, skin/eye/respiratory irritants, and ecotoxicity).

They are weighted based on several factors, including strength of evidence for adverse impacts in humans, severity, and potential contamination.

For more information on our scoring methodology visit this page.