RESEARCHERS in Beijing have found a cancer-causing hormone that could impairfertility and damage liver and kidney functions in many personal care products in China's domestic markets.

A total of 12 perfumes, accounting for 92 percent of the sample pool, were discovered to contain phthalate acid esters, a chemical that can disrupt humans' reproduction capabilities, according to a research report conducted by the Beijing Disease Prevention and Control Center.

Almost half of the tested skin care products and 30 percent of the shampoos contained PAEs, the National Business Daily reported yesterday.

The wide use of the chemical in plastic packages and cosmetics has aroused questions worldwide because the substance can disrupt endocrine hormone levels and possibly lead to cell mutation, deformity and cancer, said Li Jie, the compiler of the report.

The European Union and the United States have put PAEs on the list of high-priority pollutants and are constantly adding new types of PAEs to be monitored.

However, China has no regulationconcerning the level of PAEs and consumers can't see the amount on product labels, the report said, citing Cheng Changmei, a professor of Tsinghua University's chemistry department.

With no standard method to detect their toxicity, products containing PAEs won't be ordered off shelves, Li said. China has yet put the limit on the amount of PEAs, Li added.

Some cosmetics makers reacted warily to the report. "We have learned about this issue for several months, but we won't accept media interviews regarding this," said Yang Yan, director of public relations department of Japanese cosmetics maker Shiseido, when contacted by the National Business Daily.

Global player Unilever and the world's biggest fragrance maker, Coty Inc, did not respond to the report.

Shanghai-based Jahwa is confident it was not among those companies whose products contained PAEs, the newspaper report said, citing PR manager He Nana.

• domestic [də´mestik] a.家庭的；本国的 (初中英语单词)
• sample [´sæmpl, ´sɑ:mpəl] n.样品；试样 vt.尝试 (初中英语单词)
• contain [kən´tein] v.包含；容纳；抑制 (初中英语单词)
• chemical [´kemikəl] a.化学的 n.化学制品 (初中英语单词)
• research [ri´sə:tʃ] n.&vi.调查；探究；研究 (初中英语单词)
• yesterday [´jestədi] n.&ad.昨天；前不久 (初中英语单词)
• cancer [´kænsə] n.癌；毒瘤 (初中英语单词)
• european [juərə´pi:ən] a.欧洲的 n.欧洲人 (初中英语单词)
• constantly [´kɔnstəntli] ad.经常地；不断地 (初中英语单词)
• amount [ə´maunt] n.总数；数量 v.合计 (初中英语单词)
• chemistry [´kemistri] n.化学 (初中英语单词)
• director [di´rektə] n.指导者；....长；导演 (初中英语单词)
• player [´pleiə] n.游戏的人；选手 (初中英语单词)
• respond [ri´spɔnd] v.回答；响应；有反应 (初中英语单词)
• manager [´mænidʒə] n.经理；管理人；干事 (初中英语单词)
• regulation [,regju´leiʃən] n.规则；章程；法规 (高中英语单词)
• concerning [kən´sə:niŋ] prep.关于 (高中英语单词)
• detect [di´tekt] vt.发觉；侦察 (高中英语单词)
• shelves [ʃelvz] shelf的复数 (高中英语单词)
• learned [´lə:nid] a.有学问的，博学的 (高中英语单词)
• regarding [ri´gɑ:diŋ] prep.关于 (高中英语单词)
• fragrance [´freigrəns] n.芬芳，芳香 (高中英语单词)
• confident [´kɔnfidənt] a.有信心的，自信的 (高中英语单词)
• impair [im´peə] vt.削弱；损害 (英语四级单词)
• reproduction [,ri:prə´dʌkʃən] n.繁殖；翻版；再现 (英语四级单词)
• prevention [pri´venʃən] n.预防；阻止；妨碍 (英语四级单词)
• fertility [fə:´tiliti] n.肥沃；多产；繁殖力 (英语六级单词)
• kidney [´kidni] n.肾；性格；脾气 (英语六级单词)
• deformity [di´fɔ:miti] n.畸形 (英语六级单词)