America OnLine’s news division — which a few weeks ago slammed the chemical sunscreen industry and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for failing to acknowledge decade-old safety challenges to some of the chemicals in most chemical sunscreen formulas — has run another story slamming the sunscreen industry.

AOL News on Tuesday ran a story targeting nanoparticles in sunscreens — chemical compounds so small they have long been suspected of penetrating deep into the skin and into the bloodstream.

“The latest target of concern is the use by sunscreen manufacturers of nanosized particles of titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. A new report based on several preliminary studies says these atom-sized additives have the potential to cause serious harm,” AOL News Senior Public Health Correspondent Andrew Schneider wrote. “That follows last week’s report that the Food and Drug Administration has known for a decade that almost half of the most popular sunscreens contain an ingredient that may actually accelerate the growth of skin cancer cells.”

Schneider’s column — “More Bad News About Sunscreens: Nanoparticles” — points out that research suggests nanoparticles get into the bloodstream and potentially cause bodily harm. He also points out that the non-profit Consumers Union reported recently that 80 percent of sunscreen products that claim not to have nanoparticles actually do.

To read the AOL column click here.