Summer’s here — but how safe is your sunscreen?
Amid regulatory confusion, it could be up to you to check the ingredients yourself
● Always wear sunscreen. But before you do, make sure to check what’s in it.
A snap survey of South African store shelves found many products containing controversial ingredients that are killing fish and coral reefs — and may also be harmful to our health.
Hawaii last month banned two ultraviolet (UV) filters, oxybenzone and octinoxate, effective from January 2021, because they are damaging the island’s fragile coral reefs, according to reports.
The Pacific Island of Palau followed suit, announcing that from 2020, “reef-toxic” sunscreens would be confiscated from tourists who carry them into the country, and merchants selling the banned products will be fined up to $1,000 (R13,700).
Hong Kong is also considering banning oxybenzone and octinoxate, as well as a third common ingredient, octocrylene, after finding these chemicals caused abnormalities and higher mortality in fish embryos.
Researchers fear the contaminants could pass along the food chain to humans and “the long-term impact on human fertility cannot be neglected”, according to a Hong Kong researcher.
In SA, the regulations are hazy.
The health department, which has ultimate authority, did not respond to questions from the Sunday Times.
The Cosmetic, Toiletry & Fragrance Association of SA (CTFA) and the Society of Cosmetic Chemists SA (Coschem) said SA followed EU regulations, which limit oxybenzone to 6% and octinoxate and octocrylene to 10% in sunscreen products.
However, though Coschem said products containing oxybenzone had to carry a cautionary label, the CTFA said the regulations were “unclear” and it was waiting for the department to provide clarity. The CTFA, which advises on ingredients in cosmetics and toiletries, could also not say how many sunscreen manufacturers had been fined in the past, or what the fines would amount to.
Cancer Association of SA (CANSA) health specialist Professor Michael Herbst said oxybenzone was a possible human carcinogen and dangerous if used in products at more than 6%. The EU has said it is a threat to human health and has called for it to be replaced with a safer ingredient.
CANSA had given manufacturers until “summer 2018/2019” to stop using oxybenzone in their products if they want to carry the organisation’s logo, he said, but warned that old stock may still be on the shelf.
Currently, CANSA will only endorse products that keep oxybenzone to 6% or less.
“In the long run [oxybenzone] could be cancerous. It mimics oestrogen, it is a hormone disruptor,” he said.
“In young girls it can cause precocious sexual development. For young boys it can cause hormone problems. In pregnant women it can enter the bloodstream where it can affect the foetus.
“It can become cancerous and the cancers would be hormonal cancers such as breast cancer, ovarian cancer, endometrial cancer and prostate cancer.”
6,000 TONS OF SUNSCREEN
is washed off people’s skin into the oceans every year
The snap survey of eight top-selling sun lotions found that all of them contained at least one of the three ingredients. Only two brands had a caution label. None listed how much of the controversial ingredients were in the product.
Some manufacturers told the Sunday Times this was not disclosed because it was “proprietary and confidential”.
But all manufacturers insisted their products were safe to use and that they followed regulations.
CTFA executive director Adelia Pimentel said SA had a “self-regulated approach”, based on the EU regulatory framework, in which the onus was on companies to ensure they followed the law.
But she said there were no clear guidelines on whether oxybenzone needed a warning label in SA.
“We are waiting on promulgation [of regulations] to be clear on the way forward on warnings on labels,” she said.
Coschem technical officer and study coordinator Marlize Lategan said oxybenzone could only be used at 6% “but a warning must be on the label to warn the consumer that product contains it”.
“EHMC [octinoxate] is still allowed at a maximum of 10%, but we are already looking at bringing down the percentage.”
She admitted that “policing is a problem, the cost and manpower is a lot”, but warned that “any legislation that limits options for effective sun protection is cause for concern”.
Lategan said consumers could use natural ingredients like zinc oxide and titanium oxide, which were more effective for UV protection and were allowed at 25%.
The CTFA regulates cosmetics and toiletries and has the biggest voting rights on standards. Coschem implements the standards and tests for UV A and UV B.
Melanoma Society SA president Dagmar Whitaker said: “There is concern out there but one has to be practical … fears about potential harmful ingredients in sunscreens should not in any way interfere with sunwise behaviour and the regular use of sunscreens.”
Cosmetics are always much more difficult to control than medication as there is no strict control board. But dangerous ingredients are taken seriously and given high priority… BP-3 is also part of lip balms and nail polish … can you imagine recalling all lipsticks?
Melanoma Society SA president Dagmar Whitaker