A massive recall is being petitioned after numerous popular sunscreens were tested and found to have trace amounts of a chemical in them tied to blood cancers, including leukemia.
A study revealing the presence of the carcinogen benzene was conducted by online pharmacy and lab Valisure.
Currently, Valisure has petitioned the FDA to recall the contaminated batches after finding that 27% of the sprays and lotions it tested contained detectable amounts of benzene. In addition, some batches contained up to three times the conditionally restricted FDA concentration limit of 2 parts per million.
Valisure reported that 14 sun care product lots with some of the highest contaminations are sold across four different popular brands — Neutrogena, Sun Bum, CVS Health and Fruit of the Earth, per CBS.
The FDA is currently reviewing the claim.
"The FDA takes seriously any safety concerns raised about products we regulate, including sunscreen," the FDA told CBS News in a statement.
Despite it being unknown where the contaminate came from and more of the tested products passing rather than failing, the founder and CEO of Valisure, David Light, still wants manufacturers and consumers to take the matter seriously. Benzene is dangerous to humans, and trace amounts can be found in paint strips, glues, adhesives, gasoline, and cigarette smoke.
"Benzene is one of the most studied and concerning human carcinogens known to science. Its association with forming blood cancers in humans has been shown in numerous studies at trace levels of parts per million and below. Therefore, the presence of this known human carcinogen in products widely recommended for the prevention of skin cancer and that are regularly used by adults and children is very troubling," Light said in the company's statement.
The issue seems to be manufacturing contamination affecting specific batches, according to Light. The products tested included sunscreen and after-sun products sold by Banana Boat, Neutrogena, Sun Bum, and CVS.
Manufacturers are currently working through how Valisure could have found trace amounts of benzene in their products.
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While Valisure reports that the carcinogen was found, they stressed that consumers should continue to use sunscreen.
"It is important for people, especially heading into the summer months, to understand that many sunscreen products tested by Valisure did not have benzene contamination, and those products are presumably safe and should continue to be used, along with appropriate hats and sun-protective clothing, to mitigate skin cancer risk," Dr. Christopher Bunick, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Dermatology at Yale University was quoted as saying in the company's press release.
For the full report from Valisure visit https://bit.ly/3g954zn.