Glycerin (non-vegetable)

CAS Number: 56-81-5

SERIOUS
health hazard

MODERATE
health hazard

FEW OR NO
health hazards

0 79

80 89

90 100

Sources of exposure:

Personal care

Food

Medications

Description:

Glycerin (glycerol) is a sugar alcohol used as a humectant. It helps retain moisture in personal care products and is also used in foods and pharmaceuticals as a sweetener, moisture retainer, and thickener. Glycerin can be produced from petrochemical sources, and petroleum-derived ingredients may be contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) if not fully refined.

Health concerns:

Genotoxicity

May cause mutations or damage DNA in cells.

Contaminants:

PAHs

Banned/restricted lists:

Government of Canada. List of Ingredients that are Restricted for Use in Cosmetic Products.

References

US Environmental Protection Agency. Cheminformatics Modules, Computational Toxicology and Exposure Informatics (CompTox).

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.