The Daily Toreador - Student Newspaper of Texas Tech

Issue date: 7/22/08 Section: La Vida

Media Credit: Ruben Castillo

Not to rub it in, but some sunscreens just don't work.

A recent study conducted by a non-profit environmental watchdog organization, Environmental Working Group, found four out of five name-brand sunscreens either do not protect as advertised or contain harmful ingredients.

The experiment tested each sunscreen to determine its overall effectiveness in three categories: UVA protection, UVB protection and the stability of the active ingredients during their exposure to sunlight.

According to the report, 15 percent of the 952 sunblocks tested for the study met EWG health standards in these three areas.

The EWG requirements are based on data from industrial, government and academic sources that establish criteria for the safety levels of potentially toxic chemicals often found in sunscreen. The risk factors also were based on tested products' effective ultraviolet radiation protection and their associated chemical stability.

According to the report, the FDA has set no mandatory standard for any of these categories. Sunscreen manufacturers are not legally obligated to produce products that protect consumers from the sun or guarantee consumer safety.

Of the tested sunscreens with a sun protection factor of 30 or more, according to the report, 7 percent lack the ingredients necessary for UVA protection, or, in the case of many products tested, only protect from UVB.

Russell Akin, a dermatologist at the Texas Tech University Health SciencesCenter, said he recommends the use of sunscreens that protect from both UVA ­rays - the rays linked to aging and skin damage - and UVB rays, which are the rays linked to sunburns. Overexposure to both UVA and UVB rays contribute to the development of cancer.

"Number one: SPF is a rating for UVB rays only, which are involved in causing cancer, but more involved in burning," he said, but UVA rays, which also can cause cancer, are linked more closely to cosmetic damage of the skin known as "photo-aging."

The organization's analysis found 48 percent of products on the market contain chemical compounds that quickly break down in sunlight. This instability prevents the products from protecting skin from UV radiation as effectively as they claim.

Some commonly misleading claims on sunscreen labels, according to the report, include broad-spectrum protection, all-day protection, waterproof and chemical-free.

Continued...

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