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Cancer Causing Chemicals is Sunscreen? Oh my!

October 3, 2022

 

While skimming through our morning news, we came across a story on the internet about a chemical known to cause cancer found in one or more sunscreens. Interesting, we thought, do we not use sunscreens to prevent cancer? Once again, the quote, often attributed to Mark Twain, came to mind, along the lines of if you want to stay sane one should give up reading. But against this better judgment we continued.

The chemical was benzene and we both knew it to be associated with blood cancers in people. So that part of the story was correct. But rather than panic, and stop using our sunscreen, we looked for information on how much benzene was present. After all, if we were using sunscreen to keep from getting cancer, then we needed to compare this benefit to the risk of cancer from benzene, and for that we needed to know how much benzene was in the sunscreen. This benefit-risk comparison is not unlike what many of us do every day (driving a car versus walking to the store). We kept in mind that the potential harm from any chemical, referred to as its hazard, only occurs IF the amount of exposure is high enough, and often enough. Most chemicals, like the one described in our morning news, can be made to sound very scary to all of us. Carcinogen is one of the hazards many fear the most, us included, and using it in a headline is guaranteed to get people’s attention, Mark Twain’s alleged statement not withstanding. 

So,what about the level of benzene in our sunscreens? Based on the reports of the levels of benzene that we’ve seen, the risk of cancer appears to be extremely low and well within the levels of risk that are found to be acceptable by regulatory agencies around the world. These estimated risks are extremely small and may even be zero. Moreover, the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) used a science-based process to determine that the given amount of benzene would cause little to no harm. However, do we believe that the FDA should do nothing about the potential sources of benzene in sunscreen? Not at all. Benzene is a contaminant resulting from making the sunscreen and serves no functional purpose. Its presence in sunscreen is causing fear from use of a product that has a clear health benefit: PREVENTING SKIN CANCER FROM TOO MUCH SUN EXPOSURE. Yet another classic example of why we need a risk assessment. Bottom line – the benzene level in sunscreen is extremely low and within the acceptable levels of already very low risk; the sunscreen, used correctly, helps prevent skin cancer. You make the choice. Us? We’ll enjoy the rays and slather on the sunscreen.

By Michael Dourson and Jay Gooch. Dr. Gooch is a toxicologist retired from Proctor and Gamble in Cincinnati, Ohio and Vice President of the Toxicology Education Foundation.

WEEL OEL

Occupational Exposure Limits (OELs) are designed to safeguard the health of healthy workers during their careers. These limits are based on the assumption of repeated daily exposure throughout a working lifetime, typically averaged over an 8-hour workday. Their purpose is to prevent both immediate (acute) and long-term (chronic) health issues arising from workplace exposures. It’s important to note that OELs are not intended for the general public, which includes vulnerable groups like infants, the elderly, and those with pre-existing health conditions.

Workplace Environmental Exposure Levels (WEELs) are health-based guidelines for chemical hazards in the workplace. These values represent air concentrations believed to protect the majority of workers from negative health effects resulting from occupational chemical exposure.

The WEEL Process
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The development of new or revision of existing WEELs is typically assigned to voluntarily designated subcommittees. A subcommittee usually comprises 3 – 4 members from the WEEL Committee. New WEELs are developed using the OARS-WEEL administrative standard operating procedure (SOP), while existing WEELs are usually revised every 10 years, unless the availability of significant new data which may impact the existing WEEL value compels the committee to make a revision sooner. The OARS-WEEL SOP contains procedures and guidelines governing conflicts of interest, draft document preparation, literature searches, draft document review, balloting process, post-ballot WEEL documentation quality assurance scientific review, and publication.

Once a subcommittee has prepared a draft WEEL document, a review of the draft is scheduled for the next available Committee meeting. The WEEL Committee members are expected to have reviewed all such drafts prior to the meeting. If no major changes are necessary to a draft, the attending Committee membership may, by a simple majority, approve the WEEL for balloting. Alternatively, the Committee may direct the subcommittee to revise the WEEL and present it for further discussion at a future meeting. If a ballot is not approved by a two-thirds majority of non-abstaining Committee members, it is discussed at the next Committee meeting to determine the appropriate course of action. Once the WEEL is approved by a two-thirds majority of non-abstaining Committee members, copies of ballot comments are forwarded to the designated subcommittee and all substantive comments must be addressed in the final draft. If resolution of a substantive comment results in a change to the WEEL value or a change in the basis for the value, the draft must be re-balloted.

Once all comments have been addressed on a successfully balloted draft, document formatting and editorial review are performed by TERA, before the draft WEEL document is made available for public comment (usually for a period of 30 days but may be extended if the need arises). After the public comment period has elapsed, comments are addressed by the subcommittee responsible for that specific draft, after which the WEEL documentation is submitted to Toxicology and Industrial Health (TIH), a peer-reviewed medical journal that covers research in the fields of occupational health and toxicology, for publication. A thorough review of the galley proof by the scientific content quality coordinator at TERA, and proofreaders and editors at TIH is the penultimate step before eventual publication of the WEEL documentation.

The WEEL Committee

The OARS-WEEL Committee is composed of volunteer experts specializing in the scientific determination of occupational exposure levels. This committee actively seeks a balanced representation of professionals from toxicology and industrial hygiene, drawing upon a diverse range of experience from industry, government, academia, and consulting. Importantly, each member contributes to the Committee based on their individual expertise and not as an official representative of their respective employer, organization, or agency.