"Some of the country’s most powerful scientific advisers want regulators to take a closer look at the risks sunscreen products pose for aquatic environments.
Members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine are concerned about ultraviolet filters, the key active ingredient in sunscreen and a persistent contaminant that has cropped up in aquatic environments. In a report released today, the National Academies called on EPA to conduct an ecological risk assessment of UV filters to better understand the risks they may be posing.
Such an assessment is needed not only to protect aquatic life, the authors argued, but also because sunscreen is critical for staving off cancer and other sun-related diseases in people.
“An ecological risk assessment will help inform efforts to understand the environmental impacts of UV filters, and potentially clarify a path forward for managing sunscreens,” said Charles Menzie, chair of the committee behind the report. “At the same time, it is clear decisionmakers need more information as they navigate protecting both the environment and human health.”"
E.A. Crunden reports for E&E News August 9, 2022.
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