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Petrolatum

Synonyms: Petroleum jelly

CAS Number: 8009-03-8

SERIOUS
health hazard

MODERATE
health hazard

FEW OR NO
health hazards

0 79
80 89
90 100
68

Sources of exposure:

Personal care
Cleaning products and household care
Medications
Industrial uses

Description:

Petrolatum is a semi-solid mixture of petroleum-derived hydrocarbons. It is used in personal care products and ointments to form a protective barrier that helps reduce moisture loss. Petroleum-derived ingredients may be contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) if not fully refined.

Health concerns:

Cancer

Known or suspected to increase cancer risk in humans.

Contaminants:

  • PAHs

Banned/restricted lists:

  • European Commission Annex II prohibited substances.

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.