At a glance
| Chemical family | Volatile organic compound — a small secondary alcohol (2-propanol / rubbing alcohol) |
| CAS number | 67-63-0 |
| Classification | IARC Group 3 (not classifiable as to carcinogenicity to humans). Note: the Group 1 listing applies to the historical "isopropyl alcohol manufacture, strong-acid process," an occupational process — not to isopropanol itself |
| Where you encounter it | New polyurethane and memory-foam off-gassing; rubbing alcohol, hand sanitizer, cleaning and disinfecting products; a ubiquitous solvent |
| Sleep micro-environment relevance | One of the four compounds making up ~81–95% of a new memory-foam mattress's total VOC output — but among the fastest to fade (emission half-life ~4–12 hours) |
| Activated carbon capture | Modest — small and volatile; not a primary capture target, and largely gone within days regardless |
Regulatory & certification status
Where Isopropanol stands across the major regulatory systems and the certifications a bedroom product might carry. Each row links to the governing instrument; where a jurisdiction has no specific measure, that is stated plainly rather than left blank.
| European Union | Propan-2-ol carries a harmonised CLP classification (Annex VI to Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008, Index 603-117-00-0): Flam. Liq. 2 (H225), Eye Irrit. 2 (H319), STOT SE 3 (H336). The harmonised entry contains no carcinogenicity, germ-cell mutagenicity or reproductive-toxicity classification. No entry for propan-2-ol was found on the REACH SVHC Candidate List or the Authorisation List (Annex XIV), and it is not an EU POP. It is not the subject of any substance-specific REACH Annex XVII restriction; the only Annex XVII touchpoint is the horizontal tattoo-ink/permanent-make-up entry (No 75), which applies to any substance classified Eye Irrit. 2 (among other hazard classes) when used in tattoo inks, i.e. a use-specific restriction rather than a restriction on isopropanol as such. Regulatory — EUR-Lex · ECHA CHEM |
| United States | Under federal TSCA, isopropanol is an existing Inventory chemical; no published primary source places it on the High-Priority or Low-Priority substance designation lists or indicates a completed/ongoing risk evaluation. It is not listed on California's Proposition 65: a search of the current OEHHA Proposition 65 list returns no entry for isopropyl alcohol / isopropanol / 2-propanol (CAS 67-63-0). Note: IARC classifies the occupational process 'isopropyl alcohol manufacture (strong-acid process)' as Group 1, but that is a manufacturing process — distinct from the compound — and it is not itself a Proposition 65 listing. Regulatory — OEHHA · US EPA |
| Canada | A FINAL screening assessment for the Selected C3-C5 Alcohols Group was published 22 November 2025. It concluded that the six substances assessed — including 2-propanol (CAS 67-63-0) — do not meet any of the criteria set out in section 64 of CEPA. 2-propanol is therefore not proposed for addition to Schedule 1 and remains an existing substance on the Domestic Substances List. Regulatory — Government of Canada |
| Australia | Isopropanol is on the Australian Inventory of Industrial Chemicals and was assessed by NICNAS/AICIS under the IMAP programme (2-Propanol: Human health Tier II assessment). That assessment notes the IARC Group 3 (not classifiable) carcinogenicity status and concludes 2-propanol is not considered carcinogenic. No published source indicates a ban or scheduling restriction on its industrial use. Regulatory — AICIS |
| United Kingdom | Great Britain assimilated all EU harmonised classifications in force on 31 December 2020 as the starting GB Mandatory Classification and Labelling (GB MCL) list, so propan-2-ol carries the inherited entry: Flam. Liq. 2 (H225), Eye Irrit. 2 (H319), STOT SE 3 (H336). No GB REACH authorisation requirement or substance-specific Annex XVII restriction on propan-2-ol was identified in the sources reviewed. Regulatory — HSE |
| International | IARC classifies isopropanol (isopropyl alcohol) as Group 3 — not classifiable as to its carcinogenicity to humans. The related entry 'isopropyl alcohol manufacture (strong-acid process)' is IARC Group 1 (carcinogenic to humans); that determination concerns the historical occupational manufacturing process and its by-products (e.g. diisopropyl sulphate, isopropyl oils, strong-acid mists), not the pure compound. No Stockholm or Minamata Convention listing applies. Regulatory — IARC Monographs |
| Certifications | CertiPUR-US: isopropanol is not individually named on the program's prohibited/restricted substance list; as a VOC it would be captured only within the aggregate total-VOC emissions limit, which the program sets at below 0.5 mg/m3 TVOC measured by chamber test (sometimes expressed to consumers as '0.5 ppm') rather than treating isopropanol as a banned substance. OEKO-TEX Standard 100: does not set a named content limit specific to isopropanol; it is a processing solvent rather than a listed regulated residue. GREENGUARD / GREENGUARD Gold: chamber-based low-emission certifications that measure emissions against TVOC and individual-VOC thresholds, into which a volatile compound such as isopropanol would fall. None of these programs names isopropanol as a banned substance; placement here is by aggregate-emission capture, which we have not individually verified per program for this specific compound. Industry — CertiPUR-US · OEKO-TEX |
| The 72-hour test window | Readily detected. Isopropanol is a small, highly volatile VOC (boiling point ~82.6 C, high vapour pressure), so it off-gasses and is captured by a short ~72-hour chamber emissions test rather than being missed as a dust-bound additive. Inferred — from the compound's volatility/emission profile versus the VOC focus of short chamber tests |
What it is
Isopropanol is a small, common alcohol — the same compound sold as rubbing alcohol and used in hand sanitizer and countless cleaning products. It evaporates readily, which is exactly why it works as a quick-drying solvent and why it shows up so prominently in the air around new foam.
From a hazard standpoint it is one of the more benign compounds in this Atlas. IARC classifies isopropanol itself as Group 3 — not classifiable as to carcinogenicity. Regulatory — IARC Group 3 There is an important and commonly-confused footnote: IARC does list "isopropyl alcohol manufacture, strong-acid process" as Group 1, but that classification is about an old industrial process and its byproducts in a factory setting — not about the isopropanol molecule you encounter at home. Treating rubbing alcohol as a Group 1 carcinogen is a misreading of the classification.
How it relates to the bedroom
A defining note in the new-foam smell
A 2022 study evaluated VOC emissions from memory-foam mattresses and found that just four compounds — 2-propanol (isopropanol), acetone, chloromethane, and toluene — together accounted for roughly 81% and 95% of the total VOC output in the first year for the two mattresses tested. Peer-reviewed — Beckett et al. 2022, PMID 35588879 Isopropanol is one of those four. If you have ever noticed a sharp, slightly medicinal note when you unzip a new mattress, this is part of it.
It fades fast
The same study measured the emission decay: isopropanol (and acetone) peaked on the first day and had emission half-lives of roughly 4 to 12 hours — among the quickest-fading of the foam VOCs. Peer-reviewed — Beckett 2022 By contrast, toluene and chloromethane lingered much longer (half-lives near 24 days). So the isopropanol part of the new-foam smell is essentially a first-day-or-two phenomenon, and airing the mattress clears most of it.
It is also a cleaning-product VOC
Because isopropanol is rubbing alcohol, hand sanitizer, and a workhorse cleaning solvent, your bedroom air picks it up from those everyday uses too — often more than from a mattress that has already aged past its first week. This is context, not alarm: it is one of the more benign VOCs you breathe.
What the research says
The levels are low
The memory-foam study's central finding is reassuring: the measured and modeled airborne concentrations of the individual VOCs and of total VOCs were below available health-based benchmarks and within indoor-air-quality recommendations, leading the authors to conclude that the tested mattresses were unlikely to pose a health risk to consumers. Peer-reviewed — Beckett 2022 Isopropanol at new-foam concentrations is an irritant only at far higher levels than a bedroom reaches.
Honest scope
We include isopropanol not because it is dangerous but because it is loud — a defining component of the smell people worry about. Naming it accurately, and saying plainly that it is benign and fast-fading, is part of being a trustworthy guide to the sleep environment. Inferred — individual-bedroom concentration varies with ventilation and product use
What helps reduce it
Air out a new mattress for a day or two before use. Isopropanol's emission half-life is hours, so a short airing in a ventilated space removes most of it before you sleep on it.
Ventilate the bedroom. Fresh-air exchange clears the fast-fading VOCs quickly.
Don't over-worry this one. The honest guidance is to put your attention on the compounds that persist and matter more — the flame retardants and the slower-decaying VOCs — rather than the rubbing-alcohol note that is gone in a day.
What does NOT help
- Treating rubbing alcohol as a Group 1 carcinogen. That is a misreading — the Group 1 listing is an industrial manufacturing process, not isopropanol itself, which is Group 3.
- Heavy filtration aimed at isopropanol. It is gone within days on its own; filtration effort is better spent on persistent compounds.
Open research questions
- The relative contribution of mattress versus cleaning/personal-care products to total bedroom isopropanol over time. Speculation
The Embr Exposure Ledger: Isopropanol (2-propanol)
One chemical, several public questions, answered from independent datasets and joined here — the environment it shows up in, the body burden it carries, how it is regulated, and what actually reduces it.
Detection and body-burden figures are occurrence data, not a personal measurement or a health diagnosis. Part of the Embr Exposure Ledger — an open, cross-dataset chemical join (download the data), reusable with attribution.
Citations
- Beckett EM, et al. (2022). Evaluation of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from memory foam mattresses and potential implications for consumer health risk. Chemosphere. PMID 35588879 Peer-reviewed
- IARC. Isopropanol — Group 3 (not classifiable). The "isopropyl alcohol manufacture, strong-acid process" Group 1 listing is an occupational process, not the chemical. Regulatory
- ATSDR / EPA. Isopropyl alcohol — toxicological information. Regulatory
Frequently asked questions
Is isopropanol the new-mattress smell?
It is one of the biggest single contributors. In a 2022 study of memory-foam mattresses, 2-propanol (isopropanol) was among the four compounds — with acetone, chloromethane, and toluene — that together made up roughly 81–95% of the mattress's total VOC output in the first year. It is the sharp, rubbing-alcohol note in the new-foam smell.
How long does it last?
Not long. Isopropanol peaks on the first day after unpackaging and decays fast — the same study measured an emission half-life of roughly 4 to 12 hours. It is one of the quickest-fading components of new-foam off-gassing, which is why airing a new mattress for a day or two clears most of it.
Is isopropanol dangerous to breathe at these levels?
The evidence says the bedroom levels are low. IARC classifies isopropanol itself as Group 3 — not classifiable as to carcinogenicity (the Group 1 listing applies to an old industrial manufacturing process, not the chemical). The memory-foam study concluded the measured concentrations were below available health benchmarks and unlikely to pose a consumer health risk. It is an irritant at high concentrations, but new-foam levels are far below that.
Where else does isopropanol come from?
Isopropanol is everywhere — it is rubbing alcohol, hand sanitizer, many cleaning and disinfecting products, and a common solvent. So bedroom air picks it up from cleaning and personal-care products as well as from new foam. It is one of the more benign VOCs in the inventory, included here because it is a defining part of the new-foam smell.
Related compounds
Embr is a sleep environment company researching and addressing the chemistry of the bedroom. Research and product development in progress.
Last reviewed 2026-06-27. If you find a factual error, contact us.