Stories you shouldn’t miss:
1. Your sunscreen not only may not work, but it’s probably toxic, too. That’s according to the Oakland-based Environmental Working Group, which is out with a new comprehensive report analyzing sunscreens, the Chron reports. Lax governmental standards and nonexistent regulation are allowing sunscreen manufacturers to make bogus claims about the efficacy of their products. And many sunscreens contain chemicals that are linked to skin tumors, lesions, and hormone disruption. Among the sunscreens to avoid: Coppertone’s Water Babies SPF 70; it made the report’s Hall of Shame:
“Coppertone advises users of this baby product to apply ‘liberally.’ But scientists, who have researched its key sunscreen chemical, oxybenzone, warn against using it over large surfaces of skin and over many hours. These warnings are particularly strong for young children who don’t eliminate toxic chemicals from their bodies as readily as adults and who have more skin relative to their body weight than adults.”