Richard Scott – Editor, Personal Care SUSTAINABILITY
Coral reefs reportedly damaged by sunscreen use
The impact of consumer products on the world’s oceans has never been more present in people’s minds. Microbeads finding their way into aquatic food chains and the shocking harm that can be done by non-biodegradable packaging has made it explicitly clear that once we have finished using these products, they do not simply vanish into the ether and they can, in fact, continue to cause serious problems.
Coral reefs are particularly delicate organic structures, and relatively small changes to the ecology of its environment can cause enormous damage. The Great Barrier Reef, the largest coral reef system in the world has been reported to be suffering the effects of climate change, sediment run-off, pesticides, and mining pollution, among other issues. In October 2015 there were numerous reports in the media1
that sunscreens, in
particular one ingredient – oxybenzone – have also been implicated in the depletion of coral. Oxybenzone, which is found in 3,500 sunscreen products is a UV filter, and the study published in the Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology2
found particularly high
concentrations of oxybenzone in Hawaii and the Caribbean.
According to some reports, the amount of sunscreen that ends up in the oceans is far from negligible. Between 6,000 and 14,000 tonnes of sunscreen lotion finds its way into the seas either from swimmers or waste water, which could be enough to disturb the fine balance of the ecosystems.
The reported effects of oxybenzone include the increased susceptibility of coral bleaching, which is a stress response by the coral to a range of external factors, such as an increase of water temperature. In most cases the coral continues to live but loses its protective coating of algae and grows at a slower rate and it can ultimately lead to coral death. Another alleged effect is that oxybenzone acts as an endocrine disruptor, causing baby coral to encase itself in its own skeleton and die.
Coral reefs offer protection to many fish species as well as regulate CO2
Healthy coral have an ability to withstand the sun’s rays and this has led scientists to investigate the mechanisms in play and perhaps use any novel chemistry for the benefit of humans. Researchers at Kings College London have been studying how coral produces its own form of sunscreen – which is then also ingested by fish that feed on the coral, protecting themselves from UV damage. Dr Paul Long, who led the study, said in 2011: “The part algae play in protecting itself and coral against UV is thought to be a biochemical pathway called the shikimate pathway, found only in microbes and plants. If we could take the part of the pathway that the coral generates, and put this into plants, we could potentially also utilise their shikimate pathway to make these natural sunscreens.”
Coral’s potential to aid human sun protection Humans appear to have a conflicted relationship with coral and sun protection. In a somewhat strange twist, while our use of sun lotion may potentially be damaging coral, we can potentially gain new methods of sun protection from coral.3
Conclusion
It has to be remembered that the media reaction to oxybenzone is as a result of
.
the findings of one paper, however back in 2008 another paper made similar findings while also implicating other ingredients such as paraben, cinnamate, and a camphor derivative.4
Since then, a range
of ‘Reef Safe’ sunscreen products has emerged, but there has not been perhaps the same degree of public awareness attached to it as with other free-from type campaigns (such as palm oil, etc). At a time when the sustainability of personal care products is firmly in the consciousness of manufacturers as well as consumers, it seems appropriate that we look extremely carefully at the issue of ocean contamination as a result of sunscreen use and whatever the outcome ensure the public are informed about the measures taken.
Coral reefs are not only beautiful, delicate and fascinating organic structures, but also play an important role in the wider oceanic ecosystems and are critical in the regulation of CO2
, and we must ensure
that everything is done to protect them for future generations to come.
PC
References 1
www.time.com/4080985/sunscreen-coral-reefs 2
www.tinyurl.com/jltdn7l 3
www.tinyurl.com/z9uoo2q 4
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2291012
February 2016 PERSONAL CARE 11
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