It found that baby coral exposed to oxybenzone exhibited signs of distress, including coral bleaching, a condition that leaves coral vulnerable to infection and prevents it from getting the nutrients it needs to survive. For example, a 2016 study published in the journal Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology was one of the first to raise concerns.
#BARE REPUBLIC SUNSCREEN RECALL SKIN#
They’re part of a group of chemical active ingredients in sunscreen, meaning they protect skin by absorbing the sun’s ultraviolet rays and then dissipating the energy.
Several studies have shown that two common ultraviolet filters- oxybenzone and octinoxate-may have the most detrimental effects. This body of research-while still not definitive-has raised concerns that some sunscreen ingredients may be causing harm. Over the past decade or so, many researchers have studied the possible impact of sunscreen ingredients on coral reefs, aquatic plants, fish, and other marine life. Here’s what we do (and don’t) know about sunscreen and marine life. “What we saw was that effects of levels were such that they were encroaching upon levels in which you see some of the higher exposures in certain types of environments.” He says that given the lack of knowledge of some of the aspects of effects and exposure of UV filters, “there is reason to urge the EPA to take a more formal look at this and address information gaps to understand things better.”įor now, though, that leaves consumers who are equally concerned about protecting their skin and the environment with some tricky choices and no definitive answer to the question of what’s safe. Menzie, PhD, chair of the report committee and a principal at Exponent, an engineering and scientific consulting firm. The report recommends that the Environmental Protection Agency do an ecological risk assessment of UV filters and that the need for such an assessment is urgent. “Risk assessment is largely about the potential that chemicals may be harmful, and the closer that exposure levels get to effects levels, you get the increased likelihood that there could be an ecological risk,” says Charles A. “If one or more were to be removed from use for reasons of concerns about the environment, its impact would potentially disrupt the availability of broad-spectrum UV coverage, because most of the current products that are marketed use more than one of the UV filters,” Cullen says. The compounds are very different, he notes, and “things that can be learned about one do not necessarily carry over to another.” The benefits these UV filters provide in terms of sunburn and skin cancer protection have to be considered as well. Cullen, MD, vice chair of the committee that produced the report and former director of the Center for Population Health Sciences at Stanford University. A new report from the nonprofit, independent National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine outlines the challenges in determining the effect of the ultraviolet filters in sunscreen and other personal care products on freshwater environments and oceans and the plants, animals, and other organisms that live there. “There are many gaps in our understanding of the fate, distribution, and toxicity of the UV filters themselves, and especially when used together and in the face of other stressors on the environment, such as climate change,” says Mark S.
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