HOUSTON – More than 76,000 people have signed an online petition asking the makers of Tide laundry detergent to remove a cancer-causing chemical from its product.
The Environmental Protection Agency said dioxane, a chemical found in Tide, can cause cancer in lab rats.
"What's most appalling is that Tide Free and Gentle is marketed to moms as a healthier choice for their children's laundry," Women's Voices for the Earth, the group that started the petition, said on its website. "Yet infants and children are more vulnerable to chemical exposures because their immune, neurological and hormone systems are still developing."
The group is asking Proctor and Gamble, the makers of Tide, to remove dioxane from its detergents. P&G said the amount of the chemical in Tide is "miniscule and well within generally accepted safety guidelines." Representatives from the company said at this time they have no plans to reformulate.
However, it did change the formula of its Herbal Essences shampoo line two years ago.