Trinity College experiment finds kids' sunscreen strips paint

A SCIENCE experiment at an Australian school has found that children's sunscreen contains chemicals capable of stripping varnish from wood.

School: Kids? sunscreen strips paint

A CALL to ban some chemicals from children's sunscreen has followed a Colac school experiment which confirmed they are capable of stripping paint.

Year 9 students at Colac's Trinity College worked with Friends of the Earth to complete the citizen science experiment last summer, investigating the effect of 17 popular Australian sunscreens on varnished timber and the coating on Colorbond steel.

Project co-ordinator Louise Sales yesterday said it was concerning to find all of the sunscreens tested - many of which were targeted at children - had some effect on the timber varnish.

A number had a significant effect, Ms Sales said.

One children's formula in particular caused major damage to the varnish, she said.

The experiment replicated a 2008 study which found nanoparticles of anatase titanium dioxide in sunscreen reacted with sunlight to produce free radicals which broke down the coating on Colorbond steel, Ms Sales said.

While the recent Trinity College experiment found steel coatings held up well in testing, they also found the sunscreen seriously degraded the gloss on polyurethane wood varnish.

A popular weatherproof timber varnish was used in the experiment, she said.

"When nanoparticles in sunscreen are able to completely strip wood varnish in a matter of weeks this raises serious questions about what these ingredients could be doing to our skin," Ms Sales said.

While some Australian sunscreens had been reformulated to eliminate the use of anatase titanium dioxide following the 2008 findings, not all had, she said.

"It's incredible that these ingredients are allowed in children's sunscreen products. We are calling on the Government to urgently ban the use of anatase titanium dioxide in sunscreen. They also need to ensure that any other nano-ingredients in sunscreen are labelled and undergo stringent safety testing," Ms Sales said.