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The Mystery of Carcinogenic Compounds in Mothballs and Air Freshener, Solved at UC-B

by Gloria Gamat on June 28th, 2006

According to a new study headed by the University of Colorado at Boulder, the chemical compounds in household products (like mothballs and air freshener) are carcinogens because they block the normal process of “cell suicide” in living organisms.

Naphthalene in mothballs and para-dichlorobenzene (PDCB) contained in some air freshener were found to block enzymes involved in the initiation of programmed cell death or apoptosis.

According to Associate Professor Ding Xue of CU-Boulder’s molecular, cellular and developmental biology department:

Apoptosis is a normal function of certain cell groups that acts as a “brake” to prevent unchecked cellular proliferation similar to the process that triggers the formation of cancerous tumors. While naphthalene and PDCB have been shown to cause cancer in rodents and are classified by the National Toxicology Program and the International Association for Research on Carcinogens as potential human carcinogens, their biochemistry has not been well understood.

But with the use of a common, eyelash-sized worm known as C. elegans, the research team has shown that naphthalene can cause the inactivation of a group of enzymes known as caspases — which control cell suicide — by oxidizing them.

The study which shows why mothballs and some air freshener products may be harmful to humans appears in the June issue of Nature Chemical Biology.

Read more at UC-Boulder News.

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