A new lawsuit claims that a popular Walmart-brand air freshener contains benzene, a chemical linked to several types of cancer, at levels significantly higher than what federal standards consider safe. The suit, filed on September 1 in Brooklyn Supreme Court, accuses Walmart of selling its Great Value Hawaiian Automatic Air Freshener Spray Refills without warning consumers about the potential health risks.
According to researchers commissioned by the plaintiff, Maximus Pierre Ferraroni, a can of the air freshener allegedly contained 1.10 parts per million of benzene. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sets its guideline for chronic inhalation of benzene at 0.0094 parts per million. The World Health Organization states that no level of benzene exposure is without risk.
Walmart's product labeling for the $7.77-per-can air freshener cautions that the spray can irritate eyes and may be harmful or fatal if swallowed. However, the label does not mention benzene. According to the lawsuit, benzene is typically an unintended byproduct of the breakdown of other chemicals in such products, and brands do not commonly warn consumers about its presence.
The lawsuit states that Walmart was informed of the benzene presence in the air freshener in 2023 as part of another case. Despite this, the suit alleges that Walmart "took no action to remove the product from shelves and continued to sell it."
Ferraroni, who purchased the product at a Walmart in Centereach, is seeking $75,000 in damages, alleging that the air freshener was "misleading." The specific reason for Ferraroni having the product tested in a lab remains unclear.
A Walmart spokesperson indicated that the company would "review the complaint upon receipt." Representatives for Biogen Laboratory Developments, the firm that tested the product, and Ferraroni's attorney did not immediately return requests for comment.