Hawaii prohibits sunscreens that damage coral reefs



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A study by the Haereticus Environmental Laboratory, a nonprofit scientific organization, found that chemicals cause discoloration, deformation, damage to DNA, and ultimately coral death when they are released into the wastewater. "Oxybenzone is really toxic to the juvenile form of corals," said Craig Downs, forensic ecotoxicologist and executive director of the Haereticus Environmental Laboratory, who will witness the signing of the bill. "And this is consistent with the dogma of toxicology that juveniles are usually a thousand times more sensitive to the toxic effects of a chemical than a parent."

His research illuminated the creation of the bill and was not the first to discover that these sunscreens are harmful to coral.

These chemicals disrupt the symbiotic relationship between coral and algae, says Downs. The coral larva envelops in its own skeleton, where it falls to the bottom of the sea and dies.

"You can have an El Niño climate change impact on a coral reef, say that it kills 40% of the coral," Downs said. "But if you have swimmers with solar pollution, you're not going to have new generations to come in. So you'll see the slow decline of coral reefs in the area and then you get an underwater landscape, sorry "

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But not everyone supports the ban.

"Essentially, what happens, it is two ingredients that are both safe and effective for the use of sunscreen are prohibited, essentially on the basis of a single study claiming that these ingredients harm coral reefs, "said Jay Sirois of regulatory and scientific affairs for the Consumer Healthcare Products Association, a national trade association representing Johnson & Johnson's Neutrogena products manufacturers and Bayer's Coppertone sunscreens.

"This must be seen in the broader picture of the large amount of evidence available that shows that there are other more important causes of coral decline such as global warming, overfishing, pollution and runoff ". Downs argued that chemicals in sunscreen reduce the resilience of coral to the impacts of climate change.

Detractors of the bill also claim that banning these ingredients in sunscreen Hawaii will reduce choice, which will result in a reduction in the use of sunscreen, a major problem of public health.

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L & # 39; The American Academy of Dermatology Association issued a statement in May explaining it could lead to an increase in skin cancer, particularly melanoma, which according to the body is already 30% higher in Hawaii than the national average.

"I think it's a challenge for dermatologists Dr. Henry Lim, a dermatologist at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit and former president of the association as well as the American Academy of Dermatology. "The problem is that we know that excessive exposure to the sun is associated with damage to the skin, including what we call aging photo, which is the formation of wrinkles, but especially the development skin cancers. "

According to Lim, the approved UV filters are a challenge, but there are alternative ingredients with different sun protection mechanisms, including zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, a said Mr Lim, who understands the rationale for the bill, the implementation of these restrictions as an opportunity for doctors to redouble their efforts to educate the public about the importance of sunscreen: stay in the shade at the outside wear appropriate clothing, hats and sunglasses; and wear sunscreen only on exposed parts of the body.

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