States. That’s because we have made the decision to voluntarily recall all lots of four NEUTROGENA ® aerosol sunscreen product CVS also stopped selling CVS Health After Sun Aloe Vera and CVS Health After Sun Aloe Vera Spray a day after the Johnson & Johnson recall was announced. The companies recently pulled several sunscreens from market shelves after independent testing had found they were contaminated with a cancer-causing chemical called benzene. Gas emissions from volcanoes and forest fires are natural sources of benzene, but the largest sources are emissions from burning coal and oil, motor vehicle exhaust, and evaporation from gasoline service stations, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).

Benzene is classified as a human carcinogen, a substance that could potentially cause cancer depending on the level and extent How did brand-name sunscreens become contaminated with benzene? Should you be concerned? And what can you do to protect yourself and your family? We’ve gathered answers to these questions and more. Sunscreen use is critical to public health. Melanoma incidences continue to increase worldwide, and the majority of cases

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Cigarette smoke and off-gassing from furniture wax, detergents, glue and paint are sources of indoor exposure to benzene, according to the CDC, while outdoor air can be polluted with benzene from “gas stations, motor vehicle exhaust, and industrial emissions.” The vast majority of tested sunscreens, however, were free of benzene, and experts stress the importance of sunscreen use to protect skin from the aging and cancerous effects of the sun. Benzene is classified as a human carcinogen, a substance that could potentially cause cancer depending on the level and extent of exposure. Benzene is ubiquitous in the environment. Humans around the world have daily exposures indoors and outdoors from multiple sources. Benzene can be absorbed, to varying degrees, by inhalation, through the skin, and orally. Based on exposure modeling and the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) framework, daily exposure to benzene in these aerosol sunscreen products at the levels detected in our testing would not be expected to cause adverse health consequences. Out of an abundance of caution, we are recalling all lots of these specific aerosol sunscreen products.

But it’s very alarming, especially since the FDA does not require companies to test ingredients for contaminants, nor does it require testing for such chemicals at a finished product stage,” he added. Johnson & Johnson recalled five aerosol sunscreen products after finding traces of benzene. In this photo, Collin Morikawa sprays himself with sunscreen during the Workday Championship golf tournament in February.Benzene is a natural component of crude oil, gasoline and cigarette smoke and ranks in the top 20 chemicals used for production of “lubricants, rubbers, dyes, detergents, drugs, and pesticides,” as well as “plastics, resins, and nylon and synthetic fibers,” according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Johnson & Johnson announced Wednesday that the company is recalling five of its aerosol sunscreen products due to the discovery of trace amounts of benzene, a carcinogen, in some samples.

While the FDA evaluates the citizen petition submitted by Valisure, we will continue to monitor sunscreen manufacturing and marketing to help ensure the availability of safe sunscreens for U.S. consumers,” an FDA spokesperson said.The sunscreens tested by Valisure were only a tiny sample of the more than 11,000 registered sun care products on the market. Contamination appeared in specific batches of sunscreen, rather than a specific brand, said David Light, CEO and founder of Valisure, the independent lab that ran the tests. Mike DeAngelis, senior director of CVS Health’s corporate communications, told CNN the company is “cooperating with Johnson & Johnson’s voluntary recall.” Adverse reactions or quality problems experienced with the use of this product may be reported to the FDA's MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program either online, by regular mail or by fax.