The Environmental Working Group, a US-based NGO, has issued an appeal to the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to take urgent action on Oxybenzone (INCI: Benzophenone-3). The deadline for the industry to prove its safety has now passed, the NGO argues.
As part of the revision of the sunscreen monograph, the USFDA had initially classified Oxybenzone as a non-GRASE (Generally Recognized As Safe and Effective) sunscreen, leaving it to the cosmetics industry to provide evidence in defence of the substance before enacting the ban.
“Time’s up,” says now the EWG. “it’s time for the FDA to act.”
It recalls that l’Oxybenzone is a troubling ingredient for two reasons: studies show it may interfere with the hormone system, and it is more readily absorbed into the blood than other ingredients.
According to the NGO, studies show that Oxybenzone may increase the risk of breast cancer. Exposure to the substance is also associated with other health harms, including changes to estrogen, testosterone and progesterone levels. Oxybenzone is also one of the most common allergens in sunscreens.
Because oxybenzone has been widely used in sunscreens, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found it in the blood of nearly all Americans. Studies show the chemical is easily absorbed by the skin, can stay in the body for weeks after use, and is ingested by babies through breast milk.
“If the sunscreen industry won’t defend the use of oxybenzone in sunscreens, why should it …
