08.17.22
DSM says it has the support of 11 members of Congress to ask the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for a review of existing standards exempting employer coverage of sunscreen for outdoor workers so that standards better reflect the understanding that sunscreen is critical personal protective equipment (PPE) and not for “weather-related” protection only.
Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer today; more than 5 million people are diagnosed in the US alone each year.
Those who are required to work outdoors, regardless of the weather, are at far greater risk of overexposure to ultraviolet radiation.
“Whether they are construction workers, agricultural and infrastructure laborers, mail carriers or lifeguards, our roughly 32 million outdoor workers across the United States endure an almost daily brutal beating from cancer-causing ultraviolet radiation. These Americans face a difficult choice every day: risk their health due to overexposure to ultraviolet radiation or risk their jobs by staying home,” said Hugh C. Welsh, president and general counsel, DSM North America.
According to the CDC, only 15-24% of construction workers report regular use of sunscreen.
While OSHA requires employers to provide PPE to prevent injury from serious hazards, OSHA doesn’t specifically require sunscreen based on an outdated understanding of sunscreen as “weather-related” protection only. OSHA exempts coverage of sunscreen as PPE because the cost of requiring employers to pay for weather-related protective gear like sunscreen would be quite high.
This is particularly concerning, according to DSM, given that OSHA suggests the use of sunscreen as protection against the sun, noting that SPF of at least 15 blocks 93% of UV rays as a guard against skin cancer.
DSM is working with the Congressional members to ask OSHA to review existing standards exempting employer coverage of sunscreen for outdoor workers.
In a press statement, DSM said it believes revisiting the treatment of sunscreen as critical PPE covered by an employer will increase usage rates of sunscreen significantly, leading to the reduction of two risk factors for skin cancer—sun exposure and sunburns.
“As one of the world’s leading UV filter ingredient manufacturers, it saddens us at DSM to see so many lives devastated by such a highly preventable disease. We are very encouraged and grateful for the demonstrated leadership of the 11 members of Congress who have supported this review request to OSHA. If revised, this will have a tremendous positive impact on public health by protecting our most vulnerable populations. Every American depends on outdoor workers—to deliver our mail, grow and harvest our food, build our homes and infrastructure. At the very least, they deserve to be safer under the sun,” said Stephen Wood, senior director, DSM Personal Care NA.
The Congress members are: Carolyn B. Maloney; Eleanor Holmes Norton; Emanuel Cleaver, II; Jared Huffman; John Garamendi; Jim Cooper; James P. McGovern; Salud Carbajal; Jesus G. “Chuy” Garcia; Adam B. Schiff; and Marcy Kaptur.
In May, DSM hosted Safer Under The Sun Day, a skin cancer and sun protection awareness education event, in Washington, DC.