According to a report called No More Toxic Tub from the Campaign for Safe Cosmetic Use many baby and child-care products contain the chemicals formaldehyde and
1,4-dioxane which carry cancer and skin condition risks and these products aren't listed on the labels.

"Companies can obviously do better, and we need to demand that they do better," said Stacy Malkan, co-founder of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetic Use and co-author of the report, released Thursday. "Many companies are already making great products that don't have any of these chemicals [and] many companies in the natural products industry have reformulated to get rid of that problem. We also know many companies are using preservatives that don't use formaldehyde."

The report said that of the 48 products studied, two-thirds contained 1,4-dioxane. A subgroup of 28 products was tested for formaldehyde, and about 80 % contained that compound while numerous compounds contained both.

However, yesterday federal experts have said that the results of the study should be viewed with caution. According to a review of scientific research extensive studies of both the chemicals that were found in children's bath and personal care products suggest that if they pose a health hazard, it is likely to be extremely small and probably incalculable.

In a statement released yesterday, the Environmental Protection Agency, which evaluates the toxicity of chemical compounds, said that it "is currently doing new human health risk assessments on both dioxane and formaldehyde."

The agency noted that although previous studies had shown dioxane to carry cancer causing risks when inhaled and formaldehyde when ingested, but the agency has "not yet reached a determination pertaining to skin exposure."

The exposure to these chemicals is short lived and intermittent and they are low doses which are the reasons the Food and Drug Administration does not require that the chemicals be removed.

"FDA has not concluded, based on risk assessment, that the products containing these substances are injurious under intended conditions of use," said Linda M. Katz, director of FDA's office of cosmetics and colors.

In almost all the research conducted on the chemicals it has been on people exposed frequently and for long periods (often decades) to much higher doses of the chemicals than a bathing child would get.

Responding to the report by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetic Use, John Bailey, chief scientist for the Personal Care Products Council, a national trade association for the cosmetic and personal care products industry said, "These are issues that have been around for many, many years, so it's not new news. The thing that impressed me was the low levels of dioxane that were found in these products, which indicates to me that the industry is doing its job in keeping this potential contaminant down to a low level."