A new study from the Food and Drug Administration has found that chemicals from sunscreen can appear in the bloodstream at higher levels than the agency’s safety threshold, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The FDA examined six of the chemicals most commonly used in sunscreen: avobenzone, oxybenzone, octocrylene, homosalate, octisalate and octinoxate, and found that the maximum concentration varied from 3.3 nanograms per milliliter to 258.1, which is well above the level at which the agency recommends analysis, 0.5 nanograms per milliliter, for adverse effects like increased risk of cancer or birth defects.
The Journal adds that “For comparison, a concentration of 4 nanograms per milliliter of THC, the compound in marijuana that gets you high, corresponds to a blood alcohol content of 0.04% by weight — about what a person weighing 180 pounds would register after drinking two beers.”
The study, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that “all 6 of the tested active ingredients administered in 4 different sunscreen formulations were systemically absorbed and had plasma concentrations that surpassed the FDA threshold for potentially waiving some of the additional safety studies for sunscreens. These findings do not indicate that individuals should refrain from the use of sunscreen.”
The newspaper notes that the CARES Act recently passed by Congress requires that the FDA submit a revised order on a rule regulating chemicals in sunscreen by September 27, 2021, but a spokesperson for the trade group Personal Care Products Council told the Journal that “There will be no deadline for FDA to issue a final order, but if and when such an order is issued, it may not take effect for at least one year after the proposed administrative order.”
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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