GHS Acute Toxicity Hazard Class of the Selected Car Air Fresheners Sold in Major Hypermarkets, Penang, Malaysia Without Ingredient Information

Abstract

Introduction: A car air freshener (CAF) often contains hazardous volatile organic compounds associated with health hazards. Some of the CAF products’ labels sold in Malaysia lacked ingredient descriptions and GHS hazard communication symbols/signal words, which creates concerns about the potential hazard. The study aims to determine the acute toxicity health hazard of selected CAFs sold in Penang, Malaysia based on GHS classification. Materials and methods: Two CAFs of locally manufactured are selected, and their acute oral toxicity is evaluated based on OECD test guideline 423. Twelve female Sprague Dawley rats are dosed with the 2000 mg/kg body weight of the CAFs in a stepwise procedure, followed by 14 days of observation for signs of toxicity (clinical signs, severe pain/ distress, moribund, and mortality). Results: The observation did not show rats experiencing severe pain/ distress or moribund or mortality during the 14 days of the post-dosing, thus both CAFs are unlikely to cause acute toxicity upon oral exposures. However, both CAFs caused the rats to exhibit multiple clinical signs of toxicity concurrently that are reversible which include piloerection, inactiveness, decreased food intake, restless turning of the head from side to side, decreased grooming, salivation, sneezing, porphyrin secretion and blood around nose. Conclusion: Both selected CAFs are under category 5 of the GHS acute toxicity hazard class (LD50 > 2000 to 5000 mg/kg body weight). The reversible clinical signs observed strongly justify the determination of the GHS hazard class of specific target organ toxicity via repeated exposure.