Just one word, listed on the label of numerous consumer products has sparked intense debate among environmental groups, scientists, legislators and industry.

That word is “fragrance” and — when it appears in small print on a bottle of perfume or a container of laundry detergent — represents the potentially hundreds of chemicals that give a product its characteristic scent.

Since all sides agree that reforms need to be made and outdated chemical safety laws updated, at the heart of the debate lies a deceptively simple question: are these chemicals dangerous?

While representatives from the industry say the answer is no, some research suggests otherwise.

Two recent reports, The Environmental Working Group and the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics’ “Not So Sexy: Hidden Chemicals in Perfume and Cologne” and the Women’s Voices for the Earth’s “What’s that Smell? How the Pine Forest in Your Cleaning Product May be Hazardous to Your Health” — detail the harmful effects of chemicals not printed on the ingredients label in cosmetics and cleaning products, respectively. Some of those chemicals, legally included in a product under the catch-all “fragrance,” can cause health problems ranging from skin irritation to increased risk of breast cancer to reproductive and developmental harm, according to the reports. In short, they indicate that some chemicals may be doing a whole lot more than smelling nice.

Anne Steinemann, professor of civil and environmental engineering and public affairs at the University of Washington and one of the researchers behind the “What’s that Smell” report, published two studies about toxic chemicals in fragrance products in 2009. In one, she found that nearly one-third of the national population experienced some sort of adverse effect in response to fragrance. In another, she found numerous volatile organic compounds — some of which are regulated as toxic or hazardous under federal law — in a variety of air fresheners and laundry supplies.