Vehicle cleaner health warning
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• Chemicals used in commercial vehicle cleaners could lower sperm counts, according to a report published by green campaigning organisation the Ark Environmental Foundation.
It suggests that detergents called APEs, found in about half of vehicle cleaners, may be also be linked to testicular cancer in young men. APEs are known to make male fish develop female sex organs. "The chemicals used in cleaning vehicles and for removing traffic film from roadsigns are a health risk to the workers who carry out the cleaning," says environmental chemist Dr Brian Price.
In the report, The Environmental Impact of Commercial Vehicle Detergents, Price claims: "High-pressure cleaning systems produce mists as well as spray, presenting the risk of potentially toxic materials getting into the eyes or lungs." But he adds: "The effects on humans have yet to be fully established."
AEF's campaigns are funded by sales of Ark environmentfriendly cleaning chemicals. Ark denies that the report is biased: its profits are all ploughed back into research, product development and education.