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Intensifying her concern is the FDA's 2020 finding that six sunscreen ingredients - avobenzone, oxybenzone, octocrylene, homosalate, octisalate, and octinoxate - were absorbed through the skin and into the body, resulting in measurable blood levels. It has been shown to be linked to blood cancers even when its levels in products were in trace levels of parts per million," board-certified dermatologist Emily P. "Benzene is a well-studied and well-known carcinogen in humans. And while the CDC notes that benzene is " widely distributed in the environment," that's not exactly cause for comfort. She adds that benzene is associated with the development of blood cancers like leukemia, as well as cancers of the lungs, GI tract, liver, ovaries and breasts, so if you spot your sunscreen on the lists of affected products, stop using it. Meanwhile, the FDA sets a recommended limit of 2 ppm per day - but according to board-certified dermatologist Heather Rogers, any exposure to benzene is worse than none, and there is an accumulative effect of being exposed to benzene, meaning multiple exposures leads to more DNA damage. 1 parts per million (ppm), which makes Valisure's findings of 2 ppm or higher in some sunscreens, from Neutrogena, Sun Bum, and CVS Health, concerning. The NIOSH sets benzene's recommended occupational exposure limit at. It found that 78 of the samples tested contained benzene, a substance that the CDC, World Health Organization, and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) defines as a carcinogen via inhalation, skin absorption, ingestion, and skin and/or eye contact.
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Valisure, a pharmacy that batch tests medication before it reaches consumers, tested 294 different batches of sun care products from 69 different companies (find the full results here, on page 12).
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But as a report from independent laboratory Valisure revealed last week, 27 percent of the sunscreen and after-sun products it tested contained benzene, a carcinogen - and unsettlingly, many of them are household names. Heading into the summer months, it's more important than ever to have a sunscreen on hand that you trust.
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