Principles for the testing and certification of sunscreen products for professional use

Status:

completed

Aims:

As has been the case for many years, awareness of the risk of skin cancer induced by solar UV radiation is still poor, despite UV radiation being classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as a class 1 carcinogen. Therefore, it is essential that sufficiently effective preventive measures are taken to protect outdoor workers from exposure to solar UV radiation. The STOP principle, widely acknowledged and applied in occupational safety and health, also applies to protection against solar UV radiation. In accordance with this principle, technical and organizational protective measures are more effective and therefore take precedence over personal measures. However, practical experience shows that technical and/or organizational measures are often difficult to implement, and also that some parts of the body, such as the hands, face and back of the neck, are often difficult to protect. The use of sunscreen products as a personal protective measure is therefore an important component in the prevention of skin cancer caused by solar UV radiation. Unfortunately, many sunscreen products also have properties that are disadvantageous, such as stickiness, dirt adhesion and irritation of the eyes. These properties present obstacles to the products’ use in an occupational scenario. The aim of this research project, which consists of two consecutive project parts, was therefore to certify particularly suitable sunscreen products for use in the occupational sector by means of a test method.

Activities/Methods:

Methods for testing sunscreen preparations for their suitability for occupational use had already been developed jointly with a dermatology institute in research project FF-FB 0278. Based on these test criteria, test processes were developed in the first part of this project which are to serve as the basis for development of a test specification in a further project phase. This specification is intended for use in the future for certification of sunscreen products for occupational use. Plans are for a testing and certification body to be created at the IFA for this purpose. The test processes developed are to be validated in a follow-on project (pilot study).

Results:

Secondary performance criteria, intended to permit assessment of sunscreen products’ suitability for occupational use, had already been developed in research project FF-FB 0278. In the course of IFA project 4252 (Part 1 of the overall project), these criteria were first evaluated and prioritized with regard to their relevance for occupational practice and the practicability of their application in a test process. Suitable methods were then sought that would enable an objectively assessable and reproducible test process to be performed for the prioritized parameters (absorption time, grip enhancement, dust adhesion and resistance to sweat during physical activity). For example, a collection and weighing process was developed for quantification of dust adhesion, as a replacement for the subjective visual assessment of sand adhering to product residues. The test processes and the test procedure as a whole were also trialled and optimized in pilot tests involving test subjects. Finally, the test processes defined by these means are to be evaluated in the follow-up project IFA 4267 (Part 2 of the overall project) and compiled in a test specification. In addition, the findings obtained in the laboratory are to be supplemented by field tests in which a group of test subjects will subjectively evaluate selected sunscreen products already evaluated in the laboratory.

Planned publications: DGUV Test test specification, one international publication, at least one national publication

Last Update: