A popular Walmart-brand tropical air freshener contains over 117 times the amount of cancer-causing benzene than what’s considered risk-free by federal standards, according to researchers commissioned by a plaintiff in a new lawsuit.
The unsettling findings surfaced in court papers filed on Sept. 1 in Brooklyn Supreme Court accusing the retail giant of selling its Great Value Hawaiian Automatic Air Freshener Spray Refills without warning customers of the risk.
Walmart’s label cautions that the fruity-smelling spray can irritate the eyes and may be harmful or fatal if swallowed. It says nothing about benzene — a chemical linked to leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma. Brands do not typically warn consumers about benzene detected in their products, as it is an unintended byproduct of the chemicals breaking down.
“Walmart took no action to remove the product from shelves and continued to sell it,” reads the suit, brought by customer Maximus Pierre Ferraroni.
The $7.77-per-can-product is made for use in an automatic dispenser that releases a mist into the room where it sits as often as every nine minutes.
Biogen Laboratory Developments, which was hired by Ferraroni to test the product, discovered that a can of the air freshener allegedly contained 1.10 parts per million of benzene, according to court papers.
The Environmental Protection Agency sets its guideline for chronic inhalation of benzene at 0.0094 parts per million. The World Health Organization holds that no level of benzene exposure is without risk.
Walmart was served with documentation of benzene in the air freshener 2023, as part of another case, according to the lawsuit.
Ferraroni, who purchased the product at a Walmart in Centereach before learning of its health risks, is demanding $75,000 from the store over the “misleading” air freshener, per the complaint. It is unclear what prompted Ferraroni to get the product tested in a lab.
A Walmart spokesperson said the company would “review the complaint upon receipt.”
Biogen did not return a request for comment. Ferraroni’s attorney declined to comment.
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