The Environmental Working Group (EWG), a Washington-based research group has found that 4 out of 5 of the nearly 1,000 sunscreen lotions analyzed offer inadequate protection from the sun or contain harmful chemicals. The biggest offenders, the EWG said, are the industry leaders: Coppertone, Banana Boat and Neutrogena.

Sunscreens do not offer blanket protection from the sun and do little to prevent the most deadly form of skin cancer; reliance on them instead of, say, a hat and protective clothing, might be contributing to skin cancer; and the Food and Drug Administration has yet to issue any safety standards, mysteriously sitting on a set of recommendations drafted 30 years ago.

The EWG also trashed any lotion containing harmful chemicals that can easily penetrate the skin. Oxybenzone, which blocks UVA, is a main offender. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found oxybenzone in the urine of just about everyone tested.

This chemical can promote DNA damage in the presence of sunlight. Oxybenzone and similar cancer-causing chemicals in sunscreens contribute to the minority view that sunscreens actually cause more and deadlier cancers than they prevent. Several small studies have found an increased risk of malignant melanoma, by far the deadliest form of skin cancer, among regular users of sunscreens.

Questionable product claims are widespread. Many products on the market bear claims that are considered "unacceptable" or misleading under FDA's draft sunscreen safety standards. Claims like "all day protection," "mild as water," and "blocks all harmful rays" are not true, yet are found on bottles. Until FDA sets an effective date for these standards, industry is free to use hyped claims. Companies' decisions to inflate claims has spurred class action lawsuits in California.

Source: Most Sunscreens Fail to Protect

Sunscreens are the tip of the iceberg when it comes to ways that the chemical industry and the government are failing to protect public health. An extensive body of scientific literature demonstrates that everyone in the world carries in their body hundreds if not thousands of industrial chemicals at any given moment, the result of exposures to contaminants in air, water, and food, and to ingredients in everyday consumer products.

No one understands the health implications of our exposures to complex mixtures of industrial compounds and pollutants: remarkably, federal health standards do not require companies to test most products for safety before they are sold, including nearly all chemicals in sunscreen and other personal care products. Little is known about the safety of most industrial chemicals. In the absence of data the federal government approves new chemicals for the market using computer models to predict if they are toxic to humans. This is concerning given that these pollutants cross the placenta, subjecting the developing fetus to hundreds of chemicals. A recent study conducted by EWG found an average of 200 chemicals in umbilical cord blood from 10 newborn babies. Two recent studies highlight widespread exposure to the common sunscreen chemical oxybenzone, and associate concentrations of this chemical in pregnant women to lower birthweight in their daughters (Calafat 2008, Wolff 2008).

People buy high-SPF sunscreens in advance of beach vacations or long days at the pool, assuming they've purchased products that maximize sun protection. High SPF ("Sun Protection Factor") products do protect you from sunburn, the well-known skin cancer precursor caused by the sun's UVB rays. But these products don't necessarily block UVA rays, the more deeply penetrating radiation linked to skin aging and wrinkling, immune system suppression, and possibly skin cancer.

Does Your Sunscreen Work?