Health
Carcinogen found in popular sunscreens
Benzene, a known carcinogen that can cause cancer, has been found in many top brands of sunscreen, Valisure has said after a survey.
The online pharmacy has said that it checked most of the top brand sunscreens and has detected that 78 of them were unintentionally contaminated with benzene.
When benzene interacts with skin or blood, it can cause minor changes in DNA that could potentially lead to cancer-causing mutations. The most common forms of cancer linked to benzene are blood cancers, including leukemia and Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
The major brands that were contaminated with benzene include such top names as Neutrogena, Banana-Boat and CVS’ own sunscreen. Valisure had tested over 294 sunscreens including mineral and chemical sunscreens. Benzene is usually listed as a class1 solvent, which are not allowed to be used in drugs. The contamination could possibly have come from a batch of raw material.
Valisure has asked FDA to recall the batches of the contaminated brands.
Sunscreens have recently come under scrutiny for not labelling their SPF strength right. Drig authorities the world over are evaluating the ingredients in sunscreens after it was revealed that chemicals used in them to block UVA and UVB rays are harmful for coral reefs.
Despite possible problems, doctors still recommend that sunscreen be used whenever people are out in the sun to prevent skin cancers.