A new study undertaken by the European Commission and published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives has found a direct link between bleaching coral reefs and the ultra violet (UV) filters found in sunscreens and other skin care products. The report reckons that around 10 percent of the world's reefs are at risk of bleaching as a result of gliding traces of sunscreen.
Over the course of a twenty minute dip around 25 percent of a sunscreen's ingredients will have dissolved off the body and into the water. As coral reef resorts attract 78 million tourists each year the overall level of these compounds released into the water is massive, an estimated 4,000 to 6,000 tonnes each year.
Coral reefs are both important and delicate ecosystems, which support large numbers of both wildlife and people, primarily through fishing and tourism. They also act as natural coastal defenses. Climate change and industrial pollution is already drastically effecting their success, and their fragility was emphasized in 1998, when freak weather conditions killed off an estimated one-sixth of global coral habitats. Physical damage is already a major problem for many reefs, with boats, divers and souvenir hunters all posing a serious threat.
Sunscreen effects coral through its interference with the symbiotic algae zooxanthellae. The algae is the cause of the bright colors that attract tourists to the reefs, and also the coral's primary energy source. Bleaching occurs when these algae are killed. This new report has shown that certain chemicals in sunscreen have the potential to cause viral infections in the algae. Because the sunscreen chemicals operate in this way the damage is not depended upon a certain level of dosage, as a small amount of the chemicals can cause an epidemic which then spreads and accumulates through the reef independently.
Pesticides and hydrocarbons cause similar effects
The authors of the report do not suggest that consumers should abandon all sunscreen products, but rather that they should head toward environmentally friendly brands, such as organic formulas that use use Aloe Vera. Tourists heading to the tropics have the opportunity to send a clear message to skin care companies based on this new report without burning themselves to a crisp.
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Posted under Articles, Environmental News
This post was written by Matthew Gammie on May 24, 2008