Lecture on fragrances at Tahoe Center for Environmental Sciences

There are many people who experience unpleasant physical effects from scented products, such as perfumes and colognes. Sometimes, it might be a headache or nausea when passing by a department store’s fragrance counter or riding in an elevator with someone wearing a certain fragrance. However, there is a growing number of people who suffer more severe reactions to these and many other types of products and chemicals. This condition is known as multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS) and involves people who have developed an acute sensitivity to various chemicals in the environment. People with MCS experience a range of debilitating physical reactions, some even life-threatening, to chemicals used in a variety of products, including fragrances and personal care products, deodorizers and cleaners, pesticides, wall and floor coverings, and building materials. It’s a complex issue with a variety of triggering agents and physical reactions. Different people are affected by different products in different ways. The common factor is that the reaction, whatever the type, is very strong and disabling.

Check the list of ingredients in your shampoo, lotion, or soap—chances are, it contains at least one fragrance chemical, even if it claims to be unscented. Over the past decade, the use of fragranced personal care products has dramatically increased, but scientific research on their impacts on human health and the environment has lagged behind. The ubiquitous use of these chemicals in consumer products, the lack of clear policies regulating their disclosure on product labels, and the challenge of studying the human and environmental health consequences of fragranced personal care products make this an important emerging environmental and public health issue.

To better understand what drives people to use (or not to use) fragranced personal care products, a group of UC Davis researchers conducted a nationwide survey on this and other emerging environmental issues. They will share the results of the survey, what science can tell us about fragrance chemicals and environmental and human health, and where you can go to learn more about the ingredients in your favorite personal care products.

Fragrance chemical research will be presented on January 26, 2012 from 6 - 7 p.m. by UC Davis graduate students Carmen Cortez, Jessica Abbott, Jennifer Balachowski, Susan Chen, and Meredith Niles of the UC Davis Responding to Rapid Environmental Change Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (REACH IGERT) program, a multidisciplinary group of graduate students who work on issues related to rapid environmental change.

In order to accommodate people who may have fragrance sensitivities we ask that this event be fragrance free.

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About the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center

The UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center presents monthly lectures on science topics and organizes various educational programs including the Youth Science Institute, Science Expo, and Children’s Environmental Science Day. The Tahoe Environmental Research Center is dedicated to research, education and public outreach on lakes and their surrounding watersheds and airsheds. Lake ecosystems include the physical, biogeochemical and human environments, and the interactions among them. The center is committed to providing objective scientific information for restoration and sustainable use of the Lake Tahoe Basin.

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