Friends of the Earth Campaigning for Sunscreen Safety

WASHINGTONThe environmental watchdog group Friends of the Earth launched a summer advertising and public education campaign intended to alert the public to the risks posed by nanosunscreens.

What many beachgoers and others enjoying the summer sun dont know is the sunscreens theyre using contain manufactured nanoparticles that pose health risks, said Friends of the Earths health and environment campaigner, Ian Illuminato. What more and more studies are showing is manufactured nanoparticles may damage cells and have harmful health repercussions. They also pose risks to workers and the environment, and theres no evidence that they make sunscreens more effective at blocking the suns harmful rays.

Friends of the Earth has placed an overview of the latest research related to nanosunscreens and human health on its Web site. The research indicates nanomaterials used in sunscreens (such as zinc oxide and titanium oxide) can: damage human colon cells, damage brain stem cells in mice, penetrate healthy adult skin, travel up the food chain from smaller to larger organisms, damage important microbes in the environment, and travel from mothers to unborn fetuses.

Friends of the Earth is calling on sunscreen manufacturers to avoid using manufactured nanoparticles in sunscreens and on federal officials to require that sunscreens containing manufactured nanoparticles be labeled as such. Consumers who wish to avoid the risks posed by nanosunscreens are encouraged to protect themselves from the sun in other ways, including via hats, clothing, sun umbrellas and nano-free sunscreens.