Paraffin

CAS Numbers: 8002-74-2, 64742-51-4

SERIOUS
health hazard

MODERATE
health hazard

FEW OR NO
health hazards

0 79

80 89

90 100

Sources of exposure:

Personal care

Cleaning products and household care

Industrial uses

Arts & crafts, home goods

Description:

Paraffin is a mixture of saturated hydrocarbons derived from petroleum. It is used to thicken products and retain moisture in personal care formulations and is also used in candles, polishing products, and industrial applications. Paraffin may contain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) if not highly refined.

Health concerns:

Cancer

Known or suspected to increase cancer risk in humans.

Contaminants:

PAHs

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.