Reveal Household Cleaners' Ingredients, Enviros Urge

"It's the mystery under the kitchen sink.

Exactly what's in floor cleaner? What's stain remover made of? And what effects, if any, might they have on human health or the environment?

Environmental advocates want to know, and they asked a court Thursday to use a 1971 New York state law to force such manufacturers and Procter & Gamble Co. and Colgate-Palmolive Co. to reveal just what makes up such household staples as Ajax, Ivory soap and Tide.

The cleanser industry -- which recently ramped up voluntary efforts to unveil product ingredients -- says that the legal case is unwarranted, and that fears about health risks are misinformed.

But groups including the American Lung Assn. and the Sierra Club want the public to know more."

Jennifer Peltz reports for Associated Press February 5, 2010.