Dermatologists say people need to wear sunscreen to prevent skin cancer--but studies show that some sunscreens could increase the risk of certain cancers. EWG says only 8% of sunscreens, those containing zinc or titanium, may be among the safest.
Health advocates say many sunscreen lotions or sunscreen protectant sprays don't work as well as we think--and some of those could even be harmful.
In February, NASA scientists anaylyzed 30 years of satellite data to find out just how much the UV radiation reaching the Earth's surface had increased, largely due to decreased stratospheric ozone--at Washington, D.C.'s latitude, the number increased by 9 percent since 1979. The upward trend might be leveling off, as countries have more recently limited emissions of ozone-depleting gases like certain refrigerants.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says the number-one preventable risk factor for skin cancer is to avoid overexposure to UV radiation--and part of the way we do that is through sunscreen application.
Simultaneously, a study published in November in the journal Cancer Research, says scientists found that nanoparticles of titanium dioxide, common ingredient contained in sunscreens, was shown to cause genetic damage in mice--meaning it typically raises the risk of cancer.
Researchers say the nanoparticles cannot go through skin, recommending lotion sunscreens versus spray-on sunscreens, which can be inhaled.
Environmental Working Group (EWG) has just issued its annual sunscreen guide. The national nonprofit focuses on the human "body burden" of chemicals such as bisphenol A--which are found in some sunscreen products.
Analyzing more than 500 sunscreen products, EWG researchers concluded they could recommend only 39 of those sunscreens--roughly only 8 percent of sunscreen products on the market in the U.S.
At the top of the list for recommendations were sunscreens containing zinc and titanium--the types of sunscreens that often appear whitish when applied. Zinc and titanium sunscreens provide a literal block to wearers, scattering UV rays. Other sunscreens often, instead, have complex molecules as part of their makeup--complex molecules which, in turn, actually absorb the UV rays.
The EWG non-profit group recommends brands including Miessence, Kabana Skin Care, Badger, and All Terrain.
At the bottom of the list were sunscreens containing the ingredient oxybenzone, which is said to be a hormone-disrupting compound that penetrates the skin and enters the human bloodstream. There's also worry over inconclusive research involving a Vitamin A compound that's contained in about 40 percent of sunscreens, retinyl palmitate, which may be "photocarcinogenic"--where sunlight may cause retinyl palmitate to undergo complex biochemical changes.
Retinyl palmitate has been linked to accelerated growth of skin tumors and lesions in lab mice.
The EWG is pressuring the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to complete research on the Vitamin A compound--and to complete the sunscreen regulations the FDA began over 30 years ago, in 1978.
There's also EWG concern about SPF, or "sun protection factor", of higher than 50. The group says there are "exaggerated" claims of sun protection concerning those sunscreens, and that the higher-SPF formulations contain greater concentrations of the sun-blocking chemicals that may be harmful to people.
Negative sunscreen effects aren't limited to people: Italian researchers have studied environmental effects and those specifically on corals. In a 2008 issue of Environmental Health Perspectives, researchers found that--even at low concentrations in seawater--sunscreens can cause viral infections that can kill the ocean's coral. Sunlight has its natural benefits to humans-the natural Vitamin D source maintains human calcium levels, benefits the immune system, eases depression, and more.