According to
Enegizer, There have been four reports of burns from using Banana Boat sunscreen spray in the United States and one in Canada.The company is pulling 500,000 bottles in 23 formulations of UltraMist sunscreen off store shelves in United States.
It appears that the size of UltraMist's spray valve is at the heart of the problem, causing the product to be over-applied on the skin. As a result the lotion is taking longer to dry, which raises the flammability risk.
A press
release from Energizer Holdings said:
Energizer is voluntarily removing these products from retail outlets because of this potential safety concern. Energizer believes that this issue is associated with the product delivery system, specifically the size of the spray valve opening on the affected products.The spray valve opening on the affected products dispenses more than is typical in the industry for continuous sun care sprays. As a result, the product is taking longer to dry on the skin than is typical with other continuous sprays. If a consumer comes into contact with a flame or spark prior to complete drying of the product on the skin, there is a potential for the product to ignite.
According to
Dan Dillard, executive director of the Burn Prevention Network, the group was contacted about two burns related to spray-on sunscreen. One resident of Stow, Massachusetts reported suffering from burns on his chest, ear, and back after he applied Banana Boat Sport Performance spray-on sunscreen before he tended to a barbecue and the other involved a welder from Chesapeake, Va., while working with welding equipment. Both suffered second and third degree burns.
If you've purchased Banana Boat sunscreen within the past two years, check the chart
here to see if you'll catch fire the next time you go out.