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Originally appears in the Fall 2021 issue.

By Wendy Fachon

Few people think about how the use of sunscreen may affect lake, river, and ocean environments when it washes off the body. Researchers have recently found that chemicals in common sunscreens pose a threat to marine life. This current case topic provides teachers with a meaningful opportunity to combine lessons in data collection, secondary research, and public advocacy. Students can use what they learn to help develop public education and policy at various levels, beginning in school and advancing to district, local, state, and federal audiences. Sunscreen is a product with which students can relate, and this exploration will lead to an awareness that extends to other personal care products. Suitable for Grades 5 and up, the following content provides teachers with a meaningful opportunity to combine lessons in data collection, secondary research, and public advocacy.

Data collection: pre-assessment

A pre-assessment survey fills the double purpose of establishing a baseline of knowledge and generating valuable data.

How often do you apply sunscreen in the summertime?

a. Never

b. 1–2 times per week

c. 3–6 times per week

d. Every day

e. 2–3 times per day

For what activities do you use sunscreen?

a. Beach

b. Pool

c. Camp activities

d. Outdoor sports

e. Other _________________________________

What brand of sunscreen do you use?

a. Neutrogena

b. Coppertone

c. Banana Boat

d. Sun Bum

e. Hawaiian Tropic

f. Other ___________________________

Why do you use this brand?

a. It’s the brand I find available at home.

b. It’s the brand my friends use.

c. I like the way it smells.

d. I like the way it feels on my skin.

e. It provides the best protection against the sun’s damaging UV rays.

e. Other ___________________________

What are the active ingredients in your sunscreen?

a. Unsure

b. Avobenzone

c. Octinoxate

d. Oxybenzone

e. Zinc oxide or titanium dioxide

Survey data can be entered into a spreadsheet and used to generate bar graphs that indicate an overall picture of habits, preferences, product knowledge, and awareness. At this point students should be encouraged to share their observations, before being exposed to the most current information and resources. As the information is presented piece by piece, a more complete picture begins to emerge, along with greater understanding of the key issues.

Introductory reading and reflection

The following article overviews are presented with reference links where additional background and detail can be found. Students have the option to read more about each topic.

In 2018, Hawaii passed a state law banning the sale and use of sunscreens containing two harmful petrochemicals: oxybenzone and octinoxate. Then, in March 2021, the Hawaii Senate passed another bill banning sunscreens containing avobenzone and octocrylene. Studies show that the four chemicals now banned in Hawaii are toxic to human health, coral reefs, and marine species. These chemicals accumulate in the tissue of the coral, causing coral bleaching and damaging DNA. Corals are keystone species, meaning they provide an essential function to other species within their marine ecosystems. Fish and invertebrates live, seek protection, and spawn within coral structures.

“Hawaii Senate Bill Bans Harmful Sunscreen Chemicals,” Center for Biological Diversity, March 9, 2021, Press Release. https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/hawaii-senate-bill-bans-harmful-sunscreen-chemicals-2021-03-09/

In New England, sunscreen chemicals have been found to harm sea life. The chemicals decrease fertility and reproduction in fish and induce defects in young mussels. They inhibit embryonic development and damage immune systems in sea urchins. Other research shows that these chemicals can prove fatal to organisms living in freshwater ecosystems. These chemicals enter our waterways when we swim in our local waters and when we take showers.

“The Sunscreens We Use are Harming Our Oceans”, Evelin Mol, Seaside Sustainability, November 12, 2020. https://www.seasidesustainability.org/post/the-sunscreen-we-use-is-harming-our-oceans

Back in 2019, 12 sunscreen ingredients lacked sufficient safety data to assure they were generally recognized as safe and effective, a designation termed GRASE by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA):

avobenzone

ensulizole

octimnoxate

oxybenzone

cinoxate

homosalate

octisalate

padimate O

dioxybenzone

meradimate

octocrylene

sulisobenzone

The FDA is responsible for protecting the public health by ensuring the safety, efficacy, and security of human drugs, biological products, cosmetics, and other products. The FDA has granted GRASE status to only two sunscreen ingredients. These are the minerals zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. Safety studies for all the other ingredients are non-existent. In fact, safety studies are lacking for many ingredients used in formulating a whole range of personal care products.

“Is Sunscreen Safe?” American Academy of Dermatology Association website. https://www.aad.org/public/everyday-care/sun-protection/sunscreen-patients/is-sunscreen-safe

To generate discussion and further engage students in the topic, consider open-ended questions such as these:

Why is it important to test individual sunscreen ingredients for environmental toxicity?

Why is scientific evidence important to developing good policy?

How might scientists actually test different ingredients on marine life?

If chemicals used in formulating sunscreen are harmful to marine life, could they be harmful to humans? Why or why not?

What are the ingredients listed on the sunscreen products you keep in your house?

Ask students to bring in their sunscreen bottles and tubes and have them write the brand and the “active” ingredients on the blackboard/whiteboard.

Additional reading and reflection

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is a non-profit organization of scientists and policy experts, who conduct research, education, and advocacy in the areas of toxic chemicals, drinking water pollutants, and corporate accountability. EWG scientists have rated more than 1,800 sunscreen products. Three quarters of these either do not provide adequate sun protection or include ingredients linked to harm. https://www.ewg.org/sunscreen/report/executive-summary/

For years, some health and consumer advocates have warned of sunscreen ingredients that studies have shown entering the bloodstream. EWG flags oxybenzone as the most concerning ingredient. EWG cites studies that have shown ingredients like oxybenzone are absorbed through the skin in large amounts and have been found in breast milk, amniotic fluid, and urine.

Oxybenzone is a potential endocrine system disrupter. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) have been linked to numerous adverse human health outcomes, including alterations in fertility, altered nervous system and immune system function, certain cancers, respiratory problems, metabolic issues, diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular problems, growth defects, neurological and learning disabilities, and more.

Hormone Health Network, Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals EDCs. https://www.hormone.org/your-health-and-hormones/endocrine-disrupting-chemicals-edcs

The #1 sunscreen listed in Good Housekeeping magazine for 2021 is Hawaiian Tropic, yet the active ingredients in it are listed as avobenzone (2%), octocrylene (5%), and oxybenzone (3%).

Author’s Note: Anyone who works for a magazine knows that magazines grant promotion preference to the products of their paying corporate advertisers. Corporate labs conduct tests for the feel of the product, with the goal of non-oily, non-sticky, and non-stingy qualities. They test the smell of the product because nobody wants to wear a lotion that smells bad, and they test the sun-blocking effectiveness of the product. They use these findings to develop marketing content that will build sales and market share. Among all the corporate lab research, however, toxicity testing appears to be missing, and is not required by the FDA.

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/beauty/anti-aging/g1288/best-sunscreens/

Sunscreen manufacturers say detecting the presence of these chemicals in the human body does not necessarily mean they are bad. Since 2019, however, the FDA has been collecting information and evaluating 12 chemical sunscreen ingredients. The FDA is due to issue new rules on sunscreen ingredients, formulations, and labeling no later than September 27, 2021.

“Sunscreens under scrutiny: New FDA rules coming after summer’s end, plenty of confusion over what’s safe,” Chicago Sun-times, July 2, 2021. https://chicago.suntimes.com/consumer-affairs/2021/7/2/22560073/sunscreen-ingredient-chemical-mineral-oxybenzone-fda-environmental-working-group-ewg-guide-sun-safe

Additional discussion questions could include the following:

Why should the FDA require toxicity testing of all skincare ingredients? Should the testing be done by corporations or by an independent lab?

Why is scientific evidence important for developing good policy?

Can scientific studies be designed to favor a desired outcome? If yes, explain how.

What are the most important reasons for developing public policy for sunscreen ingredients?

What should be included in a sunscreen policy?

EWG has published a series of guides to help consumers learn about the hidden health dangers in food, water, and everyday products like sunscreen so that consumers can make well-informed purchasing decisions. EWG recommends switching from chemical sunscreens to mineral sunscreens containing zinc oxide or titanium dioxide. These two mineral sunscreens have been recognized by the FDA as “safe and effective,” because they protect people’s skin by providing a physical barrier and helping reflect the sun’s rays. EWG’s sunscreen guide is available online at https://www.ewg.org/sunscreen/. Ask the students to use the EWG website and guide as they research and rate the brands they have written on the board.

Developing effective education and public policy

In July 2021, Rhode Island became the 26th “SUNucated” state. The SUNucate law in Rhode Island allows students, parents, and school personnel to use an FDA-approved sunscreen without a physician’s note or prescription. The law also includes a provision for school districts to incorporate teaching sun-safe behaviors in schools. Previously, students were required to bring a note or a prescription from a physician to use sunscreen at school due to its classification as an over-the-counter drug by the FDA.

“Rhode Island Takes Steps to Increase Sunscreen Access for Children,” Practical Dermatology, July 16, 2021. https://practicaldermatology.com/news/rhode-island-takes-steps-to-increase-sunscreen-access-for-children

Next steps

Taken together, all of this new information provides teachers and school nurses with a timely opportunity to educate and engage middle and high school students in policy making that relates both to their own health and environmental health. After sharing the information and proposing the case for environmentally safe sunscreen education and guiding policy, teachers can challenge students to develop projects that begin to educate at the school level. Here are a few ideas:

1. Design and distribute a survey to the school’s entire population, and present the results to the school nurse and administrators.
2. Create infographics and place them in bathroom stalls.
3. Develop a Powerpoint presentation and share with a PTA/PTG group at an elementary school, and invite the school district superintendent to the presentation.
4. Write a sunscreen policy to be included in the school’s student handbook.
5. Identify environmentally safe brands and offer to sell them through a fundraiser to raise money for the school environmental club or an athletic team. [Author suggestion: Contact Beth Newberry at Pure Haven, a manufacturer of non-toxic sunscreen and other products located in Johnston, Rhode Island. She can connect the school with a local Pure Haven representative, who can help streamline this process.]
6. Work with a local legislator and draft a bill to be introduced to health, education, and environmental review committees at your state house. This might include researching what other states have done. Recruit parents, teachers, and other students to present written testimony, and ask your local legislator for tips in writing effective testimony.

Sunscreen is only one example of many personal-care products – toothpaste, deodorant, cosmetics, body wash, shampoo — that are made with harmful petrochemicals, which include categories of PFAs, parabens, phthalates, and synthetic fragrances that have been linked to chronic illnesses. Learn more by listening to the July 2021 podcast of the Story Walking Radio Hour: “Non-toxic Personal Care Choices and Clean Water” at https://dreamvisions7radio.com/non-toxic-personal-care/.

Wendy Fachon currently teaches a virtual Vernal Pool Nature Drawing program for The Empowerment Factory, which she helped develop in partnership with the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management. She also writes for Sustainable Living News online (Dreamvisions 7 Radio) and Natural Awakenings Magazine Boston, contributing articles about environmental education and health. She hosts the Story Walking Radio Hour (Dreamvisions 7 Radio Network/podbean), which is devoted to environmental education. Each month she interviews guests from a variety of professions: environmental educators, environmental organization directors, citizen activists, civic leaders, regenerative farmers, etc. The show is a great resource for teachers and provides career information to students. Wendy recently became Green Teacher’s new Regional Editor for Rhode Island, where she resides between the Hunt River and the Maskerchugg River, two small tributaries which empty out into the Greenwich Bay.