TIP TALKS

The e-Newsletter of the

Toxics Information Project (TIP)

JUNE 2010

*****************************************************************************************************

2010 SUMMER TIP TALKS ALERT: 
            Risks of Sunscreen: New Report
It's not officially the summer season yet, but the sun is out!
Below is an early TIP on sunscreen - with knowledgeable advice. 

            RISKS OF SUNSCREEN: NEW REPORT
      posted by Melissa Breyer May 28, 2010 5:01 pm
www.care2.com/greenliving/the-dangers-of-sunscreen-new-report.html
  (Hat, Shirt and Shade Provide Best Protection
  - Only 8 Percent of Sunscreens Recommended)

In 1944 the first widely available sunscreen was put on the market.
Called Red Vet Pet, for red veterinary petrolatum, it was a gross,
sticky petroleum distillate goop with  limited effectiveness. Fast
forward to 2010 and we are faced with more than 500 choices for
sunscreen–but the surprising truth is this: beyond the knowledge
that sunscreens prevent sunburns,  little else is known about the
safety and efficacy of sunscreen lotions and sprays.

Research from the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) fourth annual
Sunscreen Guide: www.ewg.org/2010sunscreen, unearthed many disturbing
facts that might tempt you to abandon sunscreen altogether–although
despite the unknowns about their efficacy, it is still recommended to
use sunscreens, just not as your first line of defense–EWG recommends
shade,  protective clothing and avoiding the noontime sun.

As for sunscreens now available on the market, EWG researchers
recommend only 39 of 500 beach and sport sunscreens.  See:
www.ewg.org/2010sunscreen/best-beach-sport-sunscreens  The reason?
A surge in exaggerated SPF claims above 50 and new disclosures about
potentially hazardous ingredients, in particular recently developed
government data linking the common sunscreen ingredient vitamin A to
accelerated development of skin tumors and lesions.  Here are some of
the more surprising facts about sunscreen, adapted from the EWG report:
www.ewg.org/2010sunscreen/9-surprising-facts-about-sunscreen 

1. No proof that sunscreen prevents skin cancer.  The FDA’s 2007
draft sunscreen safety regulations say: “FDA is not aware of data
demonstrating that sunscreen use alone helps prevent skin cancer.”
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) agrees.
IARC recommends clothing, hats and shade as primary barriers to
UV radiation and writes that “sunscreens should not be the first
choice for skin cancer prevention and should not be used as the
sole agent for protection against the sun.

2. There’s some evidence that sunscreens might increase the risk of
the deadliest form of skin cancer for some people.  Some researchers
have detected an increased risk of melanoma among sunscreen users.
Scientists speculate that sunscreen users stay out in the sun longer
and absorb more radiation overall, or that free radicals released as
sunscreen chemicals break down in sunlight may play a role. One other
hunch: Inferior sunscreens with poor UVA protection that have dominated
the market for
30 years may have led to this surprising outcome. All major public
health agencies still advise using sunscreens, but they also stress the
importance of shade, clothing and timing.

3. There are more high SPF products than ever before, but no proof that
they’re better.  In 2007 the FDA published draft regulations that
would prohibit companies from labeling sunscreens with an SPF (sun
protection factor) higher than SPF 50+.  The agency wrote that higher
values were “inherently misleading,” given that “there is no
assurance that the specific values themselves are in fact truthful.”
Scientists are also worried that high-SPF products may tempt people to
stay in the sun too long, suppressing sunburns (a late, key warning of
overexposure) while upping the risks of other kinds of skin damage.

4. Too little sun might be harmful, reducing the body's vitamin D
levels.  Sunshine serves a critical function in the body that sunscreen
appears to inhibit: the production of vitamin D. The main source of
vitamin D in the body is sunshine, and the compound is enormously
important to health–it strengthens bones and the immune system,
reduces the risk of various cancers (including breast, colon, kidney,
and ovarian cancers) and regulates at least 1,000 different genes
governing virtually every tissue in the body.  Over the last two
decades, vitamin D levels in the U.S. population have been decreasing
steadily, creating a “growing epidemic of vitamin D insufficiency.”

5. The common sunscreen ingredient vitamin A may speed the development
of cancer.  Recently available data from an FDA study indicate that
a form of vitamin A, retinyl palmitate, when applied to the skin in
the presence of sunlight, may speed the development of skin tumors
and lesions. This evidence is troubling because the sunscreen industry
adds vitamin A to 41 percent of all sunscreens.  The industry puts
vitamin A in its formulations because it is an anti-oxidant that
slows skin aging.  That may be true for lotions and night creams
used indoors, but FDA recently conducted a study of vitamin A’s
photocarcinogenic properties, the possibility that it results in
cancerous tumors when used on skin exposed to sunlight. Scientists
have known for some time that vitamin A can spur excess skin growth
(hyperplasia), and that in sunlight it can form free radicals
that damage DNA.

6. Pick your sunscreen: nanomaterials or potential hormone disruptors.
The ideal sunscreen would completely block the UV rays that cause
sunburn, immune suppression and damaging free radicals.  It would remain
effective on the skin for several hours and not form harmful ingredients
when degraded by UV light. It would smell and feel pleasant so that
people use it in the right amount and frequency.  Unsurprisingly, there
is currently no sunscreen that meets all of these criteria. The major
choice in the U.S. is between “chemical” sunscreens, which have
inferior stability, penetrate the skin and may disrupt the body’s
hormone systems, and “mineral” sunscreens (zinc and titanium), which
often contain micronized–or nano-scale particles of those minerals.
After reviewing the evidence, EWG determined that mineral sunscreens
have the best safety profile of today’s choices.

7. Europe has better sunscreens.  Sunscreen makers and users in Europe
have more options than in the United States. In Europe, sunscreen makers
can select from among 27 chemicals for their formulations, compared to
17 in the U.S.  Companies selling in Europe can add any of seven UVA
filters to their products, but have a choice of only three when they
market in the U.S. European sunscreens could earn FDA’s proposed
four-star top rating for UVA protection, while the best U.S. products
would earn only three stars.  Sunscreen chemicals approved in Europe
but not by the FDA provide up to five times more UVA protection; U.S.
companies have been waiting five years for FDA approval to use the same
compounds.  Last but not least, Europeans will find many sunscreens with
strong (mandatory) UVA protection if proposed regulations in Europe are
finalized.  Under FDA’s current proposal, Americans will not.

8. This will be the 33rd consecutive summer without final U.S. sunscreen
safety regulations.  In the United States, consumer protection has
stalled because of the FDA’s 32-year effort to set enforceable
guidelines for consumer protection. EWG has found a number of serious
problems with existing products, including overstated claims about their
perfomance and inadequate UVA protection. Many of these will be remedied
when the FDA’s proposed sunscreen rule takes effect. But even after
the rule is enacted, gaps will remain. FDA does not consider serious
toxicity concerns such as hormone disruption when approving new sun filters,
and the new rules would fail to measure sunscreen stability despite
ample evidence that many products break down quickly in sunlight.

For more, see:  Do You Know What’s in Your Sunscreen?,
Swimmers Sunscreen Kills Coral,
How Sunlight Could Prevent Alzheimer’s and Cancer

**************************************************************     
Liberty Goodwin, Director
Toxics Information Project   
P.O. Box 40572,
Providence, RI 02940
Tel. 401-351-9193
Website: www.toxicsinfo.org
***********************************************