DIY aromatherapy in the privacy of home. Sounds appealing but don't get carried away and throw caution to the wind.
The Consumer Council has conducted a test on 29 products of aromatic essential oil products to investigate what potential hazards these products may pose to the health and safety of the users.
The good news: the ingredients they contained (as analysed in the test) seem to be quite harmless. No benzene, a human carcinogen, was detected in any of the samples tested, and the levels of toluene (varying from 4 to 336 ppm) and ethanol (varying from 2 to 1,054 ppm) should not pose concern for health.
Nonetheless, pure essential oils which are natural chemicals extracted from the leaves, flowers, stems, roots or barks of plants, may have irritating, sensitization or photo-toxic effects to the skin. Further, some essential oils may possess properties which pregnant women should avoid.
The not-so-reassuring news: some of the products contained high concentration of isopropyl alcohol ranging from 81% to 95%. That is a genuine cause for concern for fire risk.
In Taiwan, in the past nearly four years, it was known that at least 15 cases of incidents with injuries were suspected to have been related to the use of essential oil products.
This has prompted the authorities there to require supplies of such products with concentration of isopropanol of over 20% to bear the appropriate safety labeling and warnings such as: "This essential oil is mixed with isopropanol, do not ignite" and "Inhaling too much isopropanol is hazardous to health".
In Hong Kong, at least eight fire accidents were found reported to be related to the use of essential oil products during the past two years or so.
Essential oil products are regulated here under the Consumer Goods Safety Ordinance which requires, inter-alia, bilingual safety markings. Out of the 29 samples, 15 were found without adequate bilingual markings. 16 samples were found without expiry date.
The attention of consumers was also drawn to the health effect of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which products such as essential oil products invariably produce in their emission.
Under sunlight, through a photochemical process, VOCs react with nitrogen oxide to form ozone which, in high concentration, can irritate the eyes and induce respiratory symptoms to healthy people, and may provoke asthmatic attacks in people suffering from asthma.
To reduce VOC emission and improve the air quality, the Government has embarked on a consultation on a proposed scheme to require mandatory registration and labeling of the contents of VOCs in paints and printing ink and selected consumer products such as personal fragrance products, air freshener, household cleaners, insect repellents, hair spray, nail polish, etc.
The use of essential oil products is generally not recommended as a means to improve indoor air quality. Consumers should consider instead removing the source of foul air and keeping the home well-ventilated.
Consumers are strongly advised to consult the test report in this October issue of CHOICE for more safety tips in the use of essential oil products.
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