Hawaiian ban sunscreen containing chemicals destroying coral

REUTERS / David Gray

This legislation is a continuation of recent research published in the journal Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology which found that Oxybenzone poses a significant risk to Hawaiian coral reefs and reduces their resilience to climate change. The chemical damages the DNA, disrupts the endocrine system and can kill the coral. According to the National Park Service, between 4,000 and 6,000 tons of sunscreen are deposited each year on the beaches of the United States.

This is of particular concern because of the significant devastation that coral reefs have experienced in recent years. The coral reefs of the world are bleaching four times faster than they were in the 1980s, which means that heat stress makes corals spew out the symbiotic alga that gives their color to organisms . After bleaching, corals usually die. According to the International Coral Reef Initiative, climate change, development, invasive species, overfishing, unsustainable tourism, the aquarium trade and pollution are all major phenomena. drivers of coral bleaching and death. Ige is committed to facing other threats on coral reefs. However, a study published in the journal Nature showed that local measures had only a minimal impact on the improvement of coral health and that the reduction in Climate change is by far the most important way to protect corals. Reefs are extremely important to Hawaii residents for various reasons, according to the State's Aquatic Resources Division. From an ecological point of view, the symbiotic relationship that coral reefs have with fish makes them indispensable to the marine life and food chain of which fish are a part. In turn, humans benefit from the harvest, sale and consumption of these fish that would disappear without a coral reef. Coral also protects the coast from strong waves and storms and is an integral part of the fishing and tourism industries. Hawaii brings in billions of dollars a year in tourism – $ 7.66 billion between January and May 2018, according to the Hawaii Tourism Board – and water activities are an important attraction for the city. State.

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Several nonprofit environmental organizations, such as Stream2Sea, responded to the study on reefs damaging sunscreen by pressing and pressing for the bill to pass. Bayer, owner of the sunscreen Coppertone, is opposed to it.