Various EU laws for UV filters threatens aquatic environment - forskning.se

Ultraviolet (UV) filters in industrial products classified as hazardous, while they need not be classified as in cosmetics, according to a new study by researchers at Stockholm University, published in Science of the Total Environment.

UV filters are chemicals that are used to block UV radiation. Under current EU legislation, the use of UV filters in industrial products, such as house paints, are classified as hazardous to the environment because of their toxicity to aquatic organisms and some plants. The same chemicals in cosmetics, such as sunscreen, need not be classified as dangerous for the environment, which in other words means that the law is different for different products.

class=”normal”> Anna Sobek and her colleagues at the Department of Applied Environmental Science, Stockholm University, looked at 26 different UV filters used in popular sunscreens. They found that 12 of them are not classified as dangerous for the environment as opposed to how they are classified if they are used in house paints.

class=”normal”> – Our results highlight some weaknesses in the current EU laws for UV filters, says Anna Sobek.

class=”normal”> researchers believe that harmonization of EU legislation for the UV filter is the key to protect the aquatic environment.

class=”normal”> – Legislation is a very powerful tool to reduce emissions of pollutants into aquatic ecosystems, but it must be consistent and transparent, says Anna Sobek.

class=”normal”> Although the researchers did not measure the emission of UV filters in the aquatic environment in this study as the implications of the results can be important to consumers anyway.

class=”normal”> – Consumers are able to choose whether to use a particular sunscreen if it says on the bottle the chemicals that are hazardous to the environment. They can also choose not to use sunscreen at all, but to sunbathe less or protect themselves with clothes, says Anna Sobek.