The ban on sunscreen to protect coral



[ad_1]


Happy family – father, mother, child in diving mask scuba diving with tropical fish in the coral pool. Lifestyle travel, water sports adventure, swim on summer beach holidays with children

Happy family – father, mother, child in diving mask scuba diving with tropical fish in swimming pool coral. Lifestyle travel, water sports adventure, swim on summer beach holidays with children

It is the middle of summer, and countless families are enjoying free time and warm weather to go on vacation. Hawaii is a popular destination, with nearly 800,000 visitors in May alone, according to state tourism data.

The state recently banned two sunscreen ingredients that researchers found to be dangerous for coral reefs. Here is what it means for you.

Effective January 1, 2021, Hawaii will prohibit the sale, offering for sale or distribution of any sunscreen containing oxybenzone or octinoxate without a prescription. licensed health care provider. The chemicals could also be labeled as benzophenone-3 and octyl methoxycinnamate, respectively.

Both ingredients help protect the skin from UV rays, but the researchers also found that they also cause discolorations, deformities, and damage to the DNA. bathe on bathers or is dumped in sewage treatment plants and deposited in water plans. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, coral reefs are vital components of marine ecosystems that protect beaches from erosion and support biodiversity.

Oxybenzone and octinoxate are on the list of approved active ingredients of the US Food and Drug Administration. The official position of the American Academy of Dermatology Association is that "claims that sun protection ingredients currently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration are toxic to the environment or a hazard to human health. Have not been proven ". The environmental working group says prohibited ingredients can cause hormonal disruption and allergic skin reactions.

Both chemicals have also been found at toxic levels in fish, seafood and chemicals. turtle eggs, seaweed, dolphins, oysters, crayfish, mussels, and even humans and dolphins mi lk, according to Craig Downs, a forensic ecotoxicologist, executive director of the Haereticus Environmental Laboratory and the main author of the Study that propelled Hawaii to ban the ingredients.

It is more of a local problem, according to a representative of the Department of Lands and Natural Resources of Hawaii. Although government officials encourage everyone to use solar reef filters as much as possible, the chances of Montana's water, for example, harming the Hawaiian reefs are slim

. The Ministry of the Environment's Coral Reef Conservation Program encourages divers to avoid using sunscreens with oxybenzone to protect the Florida reef.

But Downs says that oxybenzone and octinoxate have been detected in waters around the world. . The oxybenzone has a half-life of 2.4 years in the seawater, so that a plume of sewage or water from an area popular bathing can drain into coastal waters.

You can use sunscreens with zinc oxide or titanium dioxide. Place a physical barrier between your skin and the sun and reflect its rays.

The American Academy of Dermatology recommends anyone over 6 months of age to wear a broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30 of the body every days. Doctors also suggest you stay in the shade when you are outside and wear appropriate clothing, hats and sunglbades.

[ad_2]
Source link