EPA Denies Sierra Club Petition to Require Animal Tests for Air Fresheners

January 2007

In September, the Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and other organizations petitioned the EPA to require manufacturers to conduct toxicity experiments on animals for air fresheners. PETA submitted comments analyzing data from the American Association of Poison Control Centers that show that the number of exposure incidents reported for air fresheners is actually relatively small compared to similar reports for other products. PETA also noted that an opinion issued by the European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks concluded decisively that with one exception, air concentrations of hazardous chemicals resulting from the use of air fresheners were below known limits for adverse health effects and within the range of typical indoor air concentrations. Fortunately, the EPA agreed with PETA’s formal comments and denied the petition, sparing thousands of animals!

Many generous contributors are shocked to learn that some “environmental” and “conservation” groups, such as those responsible for this petition, use people’s donations to support activities that hurt animals and accomplish little or nothing to protect the environment. If you are a member of or donate money to environmental or conservation groups, you may wish to click here to be sure that your donations are not being used to support activities that harm animals!