People applying deodorant to start their day could be contributing a comparable level of chemicals to the atmosphere as they do when getting in their cars and driving to work.
That’s the conclusion of a new study published on Wednesday led by Matthew Coggon, a research scientist who works with the University of Colorado’s Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at Boulder’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The research upon which the new study was based was taken from data recorded in both Boulder and Toronto, detailing the emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from personal care products such as deodorants, lotions and antiperspirants. Those products react in the atmosphere with nitrogen oxides and other compounds to form ozone and particulate matter, which influence air quality and can have health consequences.
Such health care products evaporate rapidly and emit decamethylcyclopentasiloxane, a mouthful known as D5, or siloxane. Each person emits between 100 and 200 milligrams per day of D5, according to NOAA, which has a long lifespan and can move globally. D5 has been found in the Arctic, in the ocean, in women’s breast milk and even in the livers of Atlantic cod.
Coggon and his team made real-time measurements of ambient D5 in Boulder in 2015 and 2017, and also analyzed samples collected previously in Toronto. They found in both cities that the D5 emission rate is comparable to the emission rate of benzene, which is a marker of vehicle emissions.
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