As people start to flock to beaches this dry season, toxics watchdog group EcoWaste Coalition has warned the public against using unauthorized sunscreen products supplied locally, which can also damage reefs.

In a statement, EcoWaste said it conducted a market monitoring in Manila following the recent issuance by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of Advisory No. 2023-0519 reminding the public of the proper selection and use of sunscreen products.

It found out that six of the 12 sunscreen brands purchased by the group for P60 to P250 apiece from cosmetic merchants in Binondo and Quiapo have not been notified with the FDA, according to the FDA Verification Portal.

“We are concerned with the over-the-counter sale of unauthorized sunscreen products, which may not protect users from the damaging effects of UV radiation to human health,” the EcoWaste Coalition told the FDA through a letter submitted last April 11.

Citing the FDA Advisory, the toxics watchdog said overexposure to the sun may bring risks to health such as “premature skin aging, wrinkling and sagging, a compromised immune system, and skin cancer.”

The EcoWaste raised grave concern over the inclusion of reef-damaging compounds in 10 of 12 samples (one sample lacks an ingredient list, and the other has information written in Chinese characters).

“Knowing the need to protect and nurture our coral reefs, which have been ‘in constant and rapid decline,’ the Philippines should consider adopting an all-encompassing ‘Sunscreen Regulations,’ which, along with other conservation measures, can help in restoring the integrity and health of our marine ecosystems,” the group said.

The watchdog is pertaining to the unprecedented “Sunscreen Regulations” adopted by the government of Palau, which like the Philippines is an archipelagic state, banning sunscreen ingredients that are harmful to coral reefs.

“Among these reef-toxic sunscreen ingredients are oxybenzone (benzophenone-3), octinoxate (octyl methoxycinnamate, ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate), octocrylene, 4-methyl-benzylidene camphor, and avobenzone (butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane) which are on the ingredients’ list of the sunscreen samples purchased by the EcoWaste Coalition.”

EcoWaste said the  ban, which took effect in January 2020, seeks “to protect Palau’s pristine marine environment from the harmful effects of reef-toxic sunscreen.”  Such prohibits the entry, manufacture, importation and sale of reef-toxic sunscreens.