Considerations

• Skin Irritation Butyl glycol can cause skin irritation and dermatitis in certain individuals. • Eye Irritation Can cause extreme eye irritation in higher concentrations. • Contamination Concerns Butylene glycol itself appears not to be terribly harmful. It has low acute toxicity, and low risk of irritation, and no known reproductive or developmental effects. (However, data is limited on the subject.) But, because it is typically derived from petroleum sources, it is possible that it can contain traces of a class of carcinogenic chemicals called polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). It's also made from acetaldehyde which is a known carcinogen. It is unknown if acetaldehyde is found in the finished product. This process may also contaminate the product with heavy metals due to the catalysts used. There are some brands of green butylene glycol coming to market that use e Coli bacteria to ferment sugar to butylene glycol. This form would not have the contamination concerns, although it may have GMO feedstocks.