BfR
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Annual Report 2014
34
Contribution of antiperspirants to aluminium uptake
To determine the sources of human contamination with aluminium, in
2014 the BfR also conducted a risk assessment of antiperspirants con-
tain aluminium salts.
To be able to estimate aluminium uptake, the BfR had to rely on informa-
tion provided by the manufacturers on the concentrations used in their
products, as well as an
in-vivo
penetration study known to the Institute.
The BfR arrived at the following values in its model calculation: according
to the EU's Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS), approx.
1,500 mg of antiperspirant are applied every day. With an aluminium
chlorohydrate concentration of 20 %, this equates to a quantity of 75 mg
of aluminium applied every day. With an absorption rate of 0.014 %, this
in turn equates to a systemically available quantity of 10.5 µg of alu-
minium per person per day.
According to the EFSA, a systemically available dose of 8.6 µg per day
is regarded as safe for an adult weighing 60 kg. This means it is pos-
sible that the TWI which was actually derived by the EFSA for oral in-
take could be fully used up and permanently exceeded alone through
the long-term use of an antiperspirant containing aluminium. Although
this does not directly lead to health impairments, but initially only to a
reduction of the safety margin, permanently exceeding the TWI is not
tolerable from a toxicological point of view. In the opinion of the BfR,
a reduction of aluminium exposure is desirable, especially intake from
avoidable sources. Consumers who want to reduce their aluminium up-
take can choose aluminium-free deodorants, for instance.
In its risk assessment, the BfR used a very low experimentally derived
absorption rate which was classified as not very robust. It was not pos-
sible to take account of real life scenarios such as multiple applications,
underarm shaving and details of the exact formulation of the antiper-
spirants. The BfR will update its risk assessment as soon as new data
on the absorption rate of preparations containing aluminium becomes
available. The cosmetics industry has announce a corresponding hu-
man study for the end of 2015.
>>
Consumers who want to reduce their aluminium
uptake can choose aluminium-free deodorants,
for instance.
Cosmetic items such as antiperspirants
and deodorants can contain aluminium
salts.
