Facts about Sunscreen Safety
Could Your Sunscreen be Harmful?
"I'm concerned with the lack of safety testing with sunscreens," says Dr. Rebecca Sutton, a staff scientist with the EWG. There is a long list of ingredients that are potentially harmful, or even cancer causing, that we just don't know enough about. This is especially of concern when it comes to children.
The surface area of a child's skin relative to his body weight is much greater than adults. Any chemical applied to a child's skin is about 1.4 times more potent than it would be when applied to an adult's. Children have a developing organ system that is more vulnerable to damage from chemical exposures, they are more sensitive to low levels of hormonally active compounds and it is more difficult for them to detoxify and excrete chemicals.
