Chapter 1: Anionic surfactants
Linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS)
- Made from a hazardous chemical
The worst fact: it's made from benzene, and it barely breaks down without oxygen. In sewage sludge digested without oxygen it builds up to a median of about 5.6 grams per kilo of dried sludge (European data).
Why brands use it: it's the workhorse of laundry powders, cheap and made in millions of tonnes a year.
Take care if: you get the concentrated product on your skin or in your eyes. It isn't a skin allergen.
Comes from: petroleum: kerosene and benzene. Australia classes benzene as "May cause cancer". That doesn't mean it's in the product, but it's not a great starting point for something you clean with.
Myth check: nil.
Contaminants: nil.
Fair to say: in rivers, where there's oxygen, half of it is gone in about 3 hours.
Correct as of November 2026. What the badges mean
Sources
- Safe Work Australia. Hazardous Chemical Information System (HCIS): classifications for each chemical and for benzene and ethylene oxide. hcis.safeworkaustralia.gov.au
- HERA (Human and Environmental Risk Assessment). Reports on LAS (2013), alcohol ethoxysulfates (AES) and secondary alkane sulfonate (SAS, 2005). heraproject.com
The full source list is at the end of Chapter 1.