Sunscreens a Biohazard, Book Claims
A new book written by a licensed clinical scientist is slamming the chemical sunscreen industry for producing a product the author calls a “biohazard” that is more harmful than the sunlight it seeks to block.
“We have been told the sun is harmful and we need to protect our skin from its rays,” Dr. Elizabeth Plourde writes. “Yet, the chemicals used in sunscreens are not only more harmful to us than the sun, they are harmful to all water life that are bathed in the washed off sunscreens.”
Plourde’s book, “Sunscreens — Biohazard: Treat as Hazardous Waste” presents evidence claiming:
- Sunscreens do not prevent skin cancers, they promote them.
- Absorbed through the skin, they disrupt our body’s balanced hormone ecosystem.
- Bioaccumulating in fish, they disrupt both freshwater and marine ecosystems.
“This book is a must-read for anyone who has been slathering their children in sunscreen on a regular basis, thinking that they are protecting them from skin cancer. The clear take-away message from the book is that our well-intentioned efforts to develop a chemical cocktail that would provide protection from skin cancer have soundly back-fired,” MIT researcher Dr. Stephanie Seneff wrote in a review. “Dr. Plourde first shows that sunscreens have not succeeded in protecting us from skin cancer. Despite the aggressive campaigns and the steady rise in the usage of sunscreens of ever-increasing SPF levels, the incidence of skin cancer has steadily risen over the last thirty years. She goes on to talk about how sunscreen has impacted the environment — she points to the research literature to show evidence of extensive damage to algae, which are the base of the food chain in the ocean, and then subsequently to the fish and the coral in the sea as well.”
Seneff continues, “She takes the reader on a fascinating journey through the details of efforts to improve sunscreens by adding more and more chemicals, to block not just UVB but also UVA; to block not just UV but also infrared. She suggests that new products may be rushed to market before they have been properly tested, and we all become guinea pigs when we use them. She also has a chapter pointing out the importance of vitamin D3 to health, and the consequences of widespread vitamin D3 deficiency attributable to over-use of sunscreen. With over 500 references, the author’s arguments are solidly backed up by the research literature, and anyone who wants to know more on any topic can simply look up those references. This book is a tour de force, and I hope it will help us become aware of the possible unexpected consequences of thinking we can develop chemicals that will protect us from cancer better than the natural methods that have evolved in the skin.”
While Smart Tan promotes the correct usage of sunscreen — as a product to prevent sunburn on occasions when sunburn is possible — we also support efforts to fully research the safety of chemical sunscreen products on the market.
