A Conversation About Dioxane: Toxicity and Environmental Impact
by: Fran Uselman-Harris
Q: Why does there seem to be this wide-spread panic over the presumed toxicity of Tide detergent?
A: The whole tide is “toxic” mess has to do with the impurity 1,4 dioxane being present in very, very small amounts in tide as well as many many other home and beauty products including many “organic” ones. It is a by-product of the manufacturing process and it is just something that happens. It’s a pretty minuscule amount in these products.
Dioxane evaporates very very quickly – meaning, even if it does happen to survive it’s trip through your wash cycles and rinsing it’s going to certainly be gone by the time the clothes or diapers are done drying. (regardless of using a dryer or hang drying)
Additionally, is has NOT been shown to be a carcinogen in humans. Direct studies with workers who work directly with raw dioxane in very large quantities have shown ZERO increased risk for cancer.
Dioxane is also less acutely toxic than table salt and a more likely source of significant exposure for yourself in terms of dioxane is in pollution and surface and ground water pollution (from things like solvents that are used in industrial settings).
So in a nut shell – yes, things like tide might have very small amounts of it in there. So do a lot of things you probably put on your own body every single day. There is nothing to worry about in terms of exposure from these products.
As you see from the MSDS and other information shared below, there really isn’t anything to be concerned about in terms of using tide as it is intended – for laundry. Would you get sick if you were eating it in large quantities? Yeah, probably (I’ll make mention of the lady on My Strange Addiction who liked to eat laundry detergent). But being used like it should be – you and your family are completely safe.
Everything is toxic at the right level; water, table salt, etc. So, just don’t eat the tide and you’ll be golden.
Now, for the environmental aspect.
Q: Are tide and other non-plant based detergents destroying our planet and ravaging our ecosystem?
A: My short answer is no, not really, especially when you are looking at the entire scope of things. Are they like the greatest thing for the environment? That’s a no, not really as well, but neither are plant based detergents, or anything that you are putting down the drain, whether it be through washing or flushing, for that matter. And trust me, there are much worse things than tide being pumped and leached into our ground and surface water.
When people like to make the argument for more natural detergents and things, they fail to look at the whole picture – all these things have to be manufactured and transported. All these processes consume energy, which includes the use of fossil fuels. Creating the packaging for any of these detergents: fossil fuels. Heating the water in your home so these less effective detergents work well: fossil fuel. Energy to run your washer? The sewage treatment plant that treats your water and releases it? Powered by fossil fuels.
Now, I am not saying that more “Eco Friendly” detergent options are completely negated by their creation and transporting so consumers can purchase it because more mainstream detergents undergo the same process, but I want to point out. especially in terms of Cloth Diapering, that you often have to use more detergent with hot water to get them to work well enough to be effective. That’s something you wouldn’t have to do with Tide. In some cases, it ends up being a wash and probably costs you more money.
Things like this is what we in the environmental field like to call “greenwashing” and it is a huge business when it comes to consumer products. The ‘crunchy’ movement is strong, and ever growing (I mean Fluff Love has like, what? 74k members?? Who thought that many people Cloth Diapered??) but the policies and processes are not. Slap the words “all natural”, “green”, “pure”, “free”, “GMO free” on something and it’ll sell like hot cakes. But what really goes into making that product a reality? How green are your “green” and all natural products? These are the questions we have to ask ourselves as consumers.
People also like to play on our emotions and our desire to keep our kids and our families as safe as possible. We all want our kids and our families to be safe and to leave an awesome earth behind for them but by telling you something is dangerous and then trying to sell you something else, they are playing with your emotions. They also bank on the average consumer’s lack of real scientific understanding when it comes to things like chemicals, toxicity, dosage, etc.
Now, in the whole scope of things, using tide to wash your diapers or your clothes is a drop in the ocean when it comes to consumer and personal pollution. There are so many more things that we probably do on a daily basis that creates more pollution and toxicity to the earth than probably a lifetime of using tide would. The biggest culprit is driving a car. Then electric/heating usage. General manufacturing of goods also creates an extremely large amount of pollution. I mean, I could go on and on here. Even the fact of recycling takes an awful lot of energy.
I also want to underscore one of my main points here – pollution is all around us. Air pollution alone kills about 7 million people world wide every single year. If you want something to be really concerned about, that is your ticket right there. And something more concerning to be than residual tide in waste water effluent would have to be the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and the harm that is doing not only to the ecosystem and it’s members, but the food chain. (see link below)
What it comes down to is we all have to make our own personal choices when it comes to our consumer goods. Not everyone is going to make the choice to save the planet by cloth diapering. Not everyone cares about saving the planet. Not everyone cares about cutting certain chemicals out of their lives. If that’s your jam, then awesome, because that’s my jam too. But, you’re going to have to do a lot of really deep digging to find the information you need to make actual educated decisions on what consumer goods you want to use if that’s how you are deciding you’re going to make a difference.
Note: Hazard x Exposure = Risk. Hazard alone does not tell you much of anything.
A few environmental notes to add: In regards to the chemistry aspect of detergents and waste water treatment, most commercial detergents, like Tide, use LAS (linear alkylbenzene sulfonate) as a main surfactant because it is very easily biodegradable under aerobic conditions. This has very minimal environmental impact. The only other real concern with laundry detergents are the addition of phosphates into the ecosystem when waste water effluent is released into the ecosystem. Too much phosphates causes eutrophication. Nearly all detergent companies, and this includes things like dish soap, have either already phased out or are in the process of doing so, the builders in the detergents that contain phosphate.
Sources:
National Geographic Pollution Article Referenced