Coppertone recalls five sunscreen products found to contain benzene

Coppertone is recalling five aerosol sunscreens sold by retailers nationwide after finding the cancer-causing chemical benzene in some batches of the products.

Consumers are advised to stop using the affected products, which were made between January 10, 2021, and June 15, 2021, Coppertone said Thursday in a notice posted by the Food and Drug Administration.

The recall involves 12 lots of Pure & Simple SPF 50, Pure & Simple Kinds SPF 50, Pure & Simply Baby SPF 50, Sport Mineral SPF 50, travel-size Coppertone and Sport Spray SPF 50.

Coppertone has “not received any reports of adverse events related to this recall,” the brand, owned by Hamburg, Germany-based manufacturer Beiersdorf, said in a statement.

Classified as a human carcinogen, benzene can increase a person’s risk of developing leukemia and other cancers, as well as to potentially life-threatening blood disorders, according to the recall notice.

Widely used in manufacturing, benzene is present throughout the environment and can cause cancer with repeated exposure, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Johnson & Johnson in July recalled five of its sunscreen products found to contain benzene. Traces of the chemical were also found in dozens of popular sunscreen and after-sun products in tests conducted by Valisure earlier in the summer. The online pharmacy and lab also found elevated levels of benzene in more than 20 hand sanitizers earlier in the year.