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Picture yourself basking in the sun on a tropical beach sipping a cool drink, gentle waves whooshing in, palm trees swaying, with a bottle of coconutty-smelling sunscreen close at hand. It's the stuff of fantasies except that the sunscreen you’re spreading on your bod may harm the environment and your health.

Sunscreen sales run close to $500 million a year in the US[1] despite the fact that 40 percent of respondents in a 2007 survey by The Skin Cancer Foundation and iVillage said they never use sunscreen.[2] Americans forked over money for 60 million units of sunscreen in 2006, up by 13 percent over 2005.[3]

Can you count on sunscreen?

People use sunscreen to ward off painful sunburns, to avoid ending up with leathery, wrinkled skin and, of course, to prevent skin cancer. More than 1 million new cases of skin cancer will be diagnosed this year in the US with an estimated one in five Americans developing skin cancer at some point in their lives.[4] The truth is that there’s no evidence that shows that sunscreens protect you from malignant melanoma, the deadliest kind of skin cancer, and limited proof that sunscreens safeguard you from several other kinds of skin cancer.[5]

Numerous groups, including the American Cancer Society, the American Medical Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advocate sunscreen use as an important skin cancer prevention tool along with wearing protective clothing including a hat and avoiding the sun when it’s at its strongest. Or just Slip (on a shirt), Slop (on some sunscreen), and Slap (on a hat).[6] The American Academy of Dermatology has the AAD Seal of Recognition and the Skin Cancer Foundation has their Seal of Recommendation for sun care products they deem effective and safe.[7][8] However, there’s a growing current of dissatisfaction regarding the effectiveness of sunscreen and the potential health effects from some of the ingredients. A review of more than 1,000 sunscreen products by the advocacy organization Environmental Working Group found that 86 percent offer inadequate sun protection, or contain ingredients with substantial safety concerns.[9]

Part of the problem is that the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA), the government agency that reviews and monitors sunscreens which are classified as over-the-counter drugs, hasn’t updated its regulations for sunscreen in almost 30 years.[3] The comment period to the final monograph was extended to the end of 2007[10] but even once the rules are published it may take a couple of years for the changes to be put into practice.[3] The biggest change will probably be a new four-star system to label products for Ultraviolet A (UVA) light protection. Currently, SPF values only let people know about Ultraviolet B (UVB) light protection.[11]

Chemical vs. mineral

When you look at the active ingredients on a bottle of sunscreen you’ll find two basic types: 1)chemical ingredients (which absorb the sun’s UV radiation and change it into thermal energy) and 2)mineral or physical compounds such as titanium dioxide and zinc oxide (which block the UV rays by reflecting and scattering them.)[12][5]

Concerns over one common chemical sunscreen ingredient, benzophenone-3, also known as oxybenzone, peaked recently when a study by the CDC that analyzed urine samples from more than 2,500 people ages 6 and older, found the chemical in 96.8 percent of the samples.[13] Environmental Working Group calculated that nearly 600 sunscreens sold in the US contain oxybenzone, which has been linked to skin irritation and allergies. Studies on cells and laboratory animals also show that it may cause hormone disruption. A review done by the European Union in 2006 found there wasn’t sufficient data available to access oxybenzone’s safety in sunscreens.[14]

Two other common ingredients in sunscreens, octinoxate (also called octyl-methoxycinnamate) and homosalate, also have shown estrogenic effects in test tube experiments.[15] Environmental Working Group contends that similar effects were demonstrated with laboratory animals at concentrations of octyl-methoxycinnamate close to those experienced by sunscreen users.[16]

A derivative of the once very popular PABA, Padimate-O (also called octyl dimethyl PABA), has the potential to damage DNA, may have estrogenic activity, and can cause allergic reactions in some people. Luckily, it’s not in many sun care products.[16][17]

Aside from the active ingredients, sunscreens can contain DEA, parabens, artificial fragrances and other potentially harmful chemicals.[18]

The mineral or physical sunscreens with their zinc oxide (ZO) or titanium dioxide (TiO2) offer broad-spectrum effectiveness, they don’t break down easily in the sun,[19] they’re well tolerated by skin, and cause few allergic reactions.[20] They’re often contained in sunscreens formulated for babies and are found in most of the Environmental Working Group’s top sunscreen picks. Sound perfect? Read on.

Controversies: Should you nano-size?

Think zinc oxide and visualize a lifeguard from 20 years ago with a thickly coated white honker. Mineral sunscreens have changed but still have a tendency to leave a white sheen that can make even the most gorgeous look a little pasty. To avoid that quandary, many manufacturers are making their sunscreens rub on more transparently by downsizing the sunscreen particles through nanotechnology. Nano size is anything measuring less than 100 nanometers (nm). A human hair is about 80,000 nm thick and a pinhead measures around 1 million nm across.[21] You’ll often see the term “micronized” used on sunscreen bottles. Because the FDA hasn’t defined micronized, it may mean nanoparticles and it may not. Nanometers equal one billionth of a meter while microns are one millionth of a meter so 1,000 nm equals 1 micron.[22]

The $24 million dollar question is: Do these teensy nanoparticles penetrate the skin? If so, what are the effects? You’ll have to stay tuned. Some say that nanomaterials produce free radicals and can cause DNA damage to human skin cells while others assert there is little or no penetration of unbroken skin by these compounds.[23] Even reports by two eco-advocacy groups, Friends of the Earth and Environmental Working Group, arrived at different recommendations about nanoparticles in sunscreens. Another unknown: potential damage to the environment from nanomaterials.

Toll on the environment

Titanium dioxide is extracted from open mines, some in Georgia and Florida, and a chlorine-based process that releases carcinogenic dioxins into the atmosphere is used to process the titanium dioxide. Waste from this process produces large amounts of dioxin and related compounds. Dioxins are very toxic and posses longevity in the environment.[24][25] They can accumulate in animals and people and have been found in shellfish in St. Louis Bay, Mississippi, close to a titanium dioxide refinery.[26]

Zinc mining has its eco-impacts too, as evidenced in northwest Alaska at Red Dog Mine, the world’s largest zinc mine. The National Park Service released a study in 2001 showing high levels of lead, zinc, and cadmium in moss and soil along trucking roads. A brand new study done by scientists hired by the mine confirms that mosses, lichens, and perhaps ptarmigan birds have been harmed from the mining dust. A debate is on now as to whether there are health effects to people who eat caribou and other animals who move through the mining area.[27]

Recent research has revealed that the oceans’ fragile coral may be taking some hits from sunscreen as well. A study performed at Italy's Polytechnic University of Marche found that four common sunscreen ingredients can stimulate dormant viruses in the symbiotic algae that live inside coral, causing the coral to die. Worldwide, an estimated 4,000 to 6,000 metric tons of sunscreen washes off those that venture into oceans and the researchers postulate that amount could imperil up to 10 percent of coral reefs.[28]

Non-recyclable sunscreen bottles also use up fossil fuel resources and take up landfill space. Additionally, plastic bottles can take hundreds of years to decompose, while ingredients in leftover product —including phenoxyethanol and parabens—can contaminate soil and water.[29][30]

Green claims

What's the big ''O'' really mean? Many personal care or cosmetic products are covered with advertising claims that can be hard to sort out and verify. One such murky area is the term “organic.” While the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) maintains clearcut standards for organic food, the same can’t be said for body care products. The industry is in turmoil trying to agree upon a set of standards. Some companies use the USDA certified organic food standard, which requires 95 percent of the ingredients to be organic. Others use the less stringent California state standard for organic cosmetic products which requires at least 70 percent organically produced ingredients.[31] And still others label their products organic without meeting any external criterion. In the meantime, a nonprofit standard-setting group called NSF International has released a draft set of rules for organic personal care products and a group of 30 cosmetic companies recently devised their own set of specifications called Organic and Sustainable Industry Standards (OASIS).[32] How it all washes out remains to be seen.

Watching out for the critters. The cruelty-free movement includes certifiers like Leaping Bunny or the Certified Vegan. You can rest assured that no bunnies (or monkeys or cats for that matter) were harmed in the making of these non-animal-tested products. Just keep in mind: a company may claim that they don’t employ animal testing for their products, but without third-party verification, it’s hard to know whether these statements are in fact completely true.

Glossary

• DEA: Diethanolamine, (also related to the additives TEA and MEA) is a suspected carcinogen, used as an emulsifier or foaming agent.[18]
• parabens: The paraben family of preservatives (which includes methyl-, ethyl-, propyl- and butyl-parabens) can affect the endocrine system which produces the body's hormones.[18]

External links

• Newsweek - Sizing Up Sunscreen
• The Green Guide - Screen Test: Reading the Micro-Fine Print
• The Green Guide - Product Report: Sunscreens and Sunblocks
• US Food and Drug Administration - Safer Sunning in Seven Steps
• Philadelphia Inquirer - Nanotechnology: Getting small is getting big
• US Environmental Protection Agency - Sunscreen: The Burning Facts
• The New York Times - Nanoparticles in Your Sunscreen: Too Hot to Handle?
• US Environmental Protection Agency - Sunwise Program: Health Effects of Overexposure to the Sun
• Environmental Working Group - Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database Before you bask, check out where your favorite sunscreen ranks on the hazard scale.