Human health risk assessment of chloroxylenol in liquid hand soap and dishwashing soap used by consumers and health-care professionals

•Human risk assessment of chloroxylenol in liquid hand and dishwashing soap products.•Consumers and health-care workers considered in health protective scenarios.•Minimal systemic toxicity and no evidence of genotoxicity, or carcinogenicity.•Estimates likely overestimate exposure and risk (e.g. 100% dermal penetration).•Resulting MOEs 178 to >100,000,000 indicate negligibly small potential for harm.

A quantitative human risk assessment of chloroxylenol was conducted for liquid hand and dishwashing soap products used by consumers and health-care workers. The toxicological data for chloroxylenol indicate lack of genotoxicity, no evidence of carcinogenicity, and minimal systemic toxicity. No observed adverse effect levels (NOAEL) were established from chronic toxicity studies, specifically a carcinogenicity study that found no cancer excess (18 mg/kg-day) and studies of developmental and reproductive toxicity (100 mg/kg-day). Exposure to chloroxylenol for adults and children was estimated for two types of rinse-off cleaning products, one liquid hand soap, and two dishwashing products. The identified NOAELs were used together with exposure estimates to derive margin of exposure (MOE) estimates for chloroxylenol (i.e., estimates of exposure over NOAELs). These estimates were designed with conservative assumptions and likely overestimate exposure and risk (i.e., highest frequency, 100% dermal penetration). The resulting MOEs ranged from 178 to over 100, 000, 000 indicating negligibly small potential for harm related to consumer or health-care worker exposure to chloroxylenol in liquid soaps used in dish washing and hand washing.