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Environmental Action: Some sunscreen ingredients kill coral
Bonaire Talk: Environmental Action: Archives 2008-2009: Some sunscreen ingredients kill coral
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Sandra Carpenter (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #9) on Friday, June 20, 2008 - 1:36 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

In the May 2008 issue of ScubaDiving is an article about sunscreen ingredients that awaken dormant viruses and kill the symbiotic algae that live in coral polyps. Without the algae, the coral bleaches and dies. The oil in sunscreens also floats on the surface of the water long enough to affect the flow of oxygen.

What to do? Choose sunscreens without derivatives of paraben, cinnamate, benzophenone, and camphor; these are chemical filters that absorb UV radiation. Instead, use sunscreens containing physical filters that scatter and reflect UV, such as zinc oxide and titanium dioxide.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By BonnieC (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #1) on Thursday, January 1, 2009 - 8:04 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

My husband and I have been coming to Bonaire for almost 20 years and we try to be as careful as we can to keep the island and the marine park as unspoiled as possible. I never thought about sunscreen until I read the article.
There is a lot of conflicting advice about sunscreens and coral out on the web. Does anyone have a recommendation for a sunscreen that works and is safe for the reefs? Does any place on the island sell reef-safe sunscreen?

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mel Briscoe (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #313) on Thursday, January 1, 2009 - 9:35 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

I've attached the research article that the many "sunscreen on divers kills coral" comments are based on. You need not read all the chemistry to discover that (1) the study actually put sunscreen directly on the coral, that (2) it is speculation that the effects have any significance compared to known major problems like sewage and physical damage, and (3) a diver covered in neoprene releases almost no sunscreen to the water. If divers want to protect the reef, they would probably do much better to just watch their fins rather than change their sunscreen. When you read the professional web sites (like coral-list) you discover that this paper is not highly thought of.

Danovaro et al - Coral and Sunscreens.pdf

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mel Briscoe (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #314) on Thursday, January 1, 2009 - 9:54 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Below is a link to the research article that the many "sunscreen on divers kills coral" comments are based on. You need not read all the chemistry to discover that (1) the study put coral pieces in bags of seawater mixed with sunscreen, and then incubated the bags (not the same dynamic environment as the ocean!); that (2) it is unlikely speculation that the effects have any significance compared to known major problems like sewage and physical damage, and (3) a diver covered in neoprene releases almost no sunscreen to the water. If divers want to protect the reef, they would probably do much better to just watch their fins rather than change their sunscreen. When you read the professional web sites (like coral-list) you discover that this paper is not highly thought of.
http://www.ehponline.org/members/2008/10966/10966.pdf

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mel Briscoe (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #315) on Thursday, January 1, 2009 - 9:56 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Ignore my post #313; bad attachment, incomplete text. Sorry.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Babala (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #9) on Thursday, June 11, 2009 - 12:39 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Better yet, forget the sunscreen and wear lightweight skins. Total protection from the sun and no chemicals / ever.
Have been wearing them for decades. I can't imagine how many gallons of sunscreen gets into the ocean on a daily basis.
It's a win/win. Save your skin, save the reef.

 


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