Chemicals linked to cancer removed from some nail polish lines

Newsday.com reports that three major nail polish manufacturers they've either removed or have begun the process of removing a trio of substances that may cause cancer. Excerpts below.

Link: Chemicals linked to cancer removed from some nail polish lines - Newsday.com.

Confronting the criticism of health and environmental groups, three major nail polish manufacturers -- including one on Long Island -- say they've either removed or have begun the process of removing a trio of substances that have been deemed harmful.

The chemicals formaldehyde, toluene and dibutyl phthalate, or DBP, have been linked to cancer and birth defects. All were banned earlier this year in cosmetics by European Union regulators but have not been targeted for removal in this country by the Food and Drug Administration.

Manufacturers, all with markets abroad, said Tuesday they have begun removing the compounds voluntarily under pressure from health and environmental advocacy organizations.

The companies had come under fire for several years from the Breast Cancer Fund, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and Women's Voices of the Earth, among a host of other advocacy groups.

The FDA doesn't require the rigorous scrutiny of cosmetics that is reserved for pharmaceuticals.

FDA spokeswoman Veronica Castro said the agency could not respond to issues involving compounds in nail polish Tuesday because the expert in the Cosmetics and Colors division was absent.

Arthur Levin, director of the Center for Medical Consumers, a health advocacy group in Manhattan, said the FDA is "understaffed and overworked," and cannot maintain appropriate vigilance over cosmetics.