Yellow Dye Linked to Dangerous Chemical

A dangerous chemical may be leaching out of your clothing and magazines, according to a newly completed study that analyzed cloth and printed material colored with yellow dyes.

According to a new study out of Rutgers university, common yellow dyes, inks, and paints have been found to contain trace amounts of a chemical called PCB-11, a polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB).

According to Lisa Rodenburg, an associate professor of environmental chemistry at Rutgers University and lead researcher of the study, PCBs were banned in the U.S. over thirty years ago after it was discovered how harmful their chlorinated nature could be to the environment and people.

Primarily used as industrial solvents between the 1930s and 1970s, PCBs were discovered to be dangerous carcinogens that did not simply wash away when disposed of. According to Rodenbeurg. because of their high chlorination, PCBs would accumulate and contaminate soil, river beds, and even skin.

Unlike traditional PCBs, PCB-11 is not an intentionally made industrial chemical, but rather a by-product in commercial pigment. It has also been found to carry significantly less chlorine than its dangerous predecessors. Still, Rodenburg explained to reporters from Environmental Health News that because the chemical is simply a by-product of yellow dyes and inks, it remains unregulated and untested. Unlike the PCBs of old, very little is known about PCB-11s impact on people and the environments.

The study itself, which is slated to be published in a peer-reviewed journal at a later date, 43 samples of ink-related paper products and 16 pieces of U.S. clothing contained PCB-11. Most tested materials, produced in the U.S. or overseas, constrained at least trace amounts of the chemical in some dozen parts-per-billion.

Still, Rodenburg claims that even at such minuscule levels, the presence of the chemical at all is worrisome, simply because if it is in our clothes and in our papers, we are almost constantly in contract with it.

This information should be regarded as preliminary findings until after the Rutgers University study had been published for public access in a peer-reviewed journal.