High levels of cancer-causing chemical found in 15 hand sanitizer brands

(CBS Newspath) — During the pandemic, we’ve relied on hand sanitizers to help keep us safe.

But now, in an independent study, researchers from the company Valisure say they detected higher than allowed levels of a potential cancer causing chemical compound in 21 products from 15 brands.

CBS News found some of these products containing benzene for sale on major retailers’ websites.

Valisure says of 260 products, 21 from 15 brands tested above the FDA interim limit. The top three tested between six to eight times higher than allowed.

The leading brand — Purell — and many others had no detectable levels of benzene.

If you want to see which products were flagged by Valisure, click here.