Oxybenzone in sunscreen here is the killer of coral reefs – News Free

Virginia (USA), October 22, 2015 – A substance found in sunscreens is really putting at risk the coral ? Well yes. According to a report compiled by a team of international scientists led by the organization “Haereticus Environmental Laboratory” in Virginia, in the United States, the ‘ oxybenzone ( oxybenzone ) contained in sunscreen would be among the first responsible for the decline of coral reefs.

 

 

The chemical, common element in sunscreens, scientists say, would represent a real existential threat to corals and coral reefs on the planet, because even in tiny concentrations is able to determine the whitening of the corals, and more.

The scientists also noted that oxybenzone hurts the same DNA coral , negatively affecting their ability to reproduce, causing, as a result, a decline in coral populations.

Daily use of sunscreen is widely recognized as essential for the prevention of skin cancer, but it can be harmful to the environment. The
oxybenzone, experts say, is in more than 3,500 products sunscreen sold all over the world. This substance pollutes the reefs when the people who spalmana sunscreen plunge into the water.

The report is, in fact, found that the highest concentration of oxybenzone was detected around coral reefs more crowded of tourists, especially in Hawaii and the Caribbean.

“The oxybenzone alters the DNA of the corals, and it destroys the endocrine system, causing small corals to turn in on themselves and die. According to the study, between 6,000 and 14,000 tons of sunscreen ends up in the coral reefs, and most of these contain oxybenzone, “says the report.

The scientists explained that a person spend a day beach could be used between two to four ounces of sunscreen if reapplied every two hours after swimming, sweating or wiping a significant amount. The pollution oxybenzone occurs mainly in tourist areas, but also occurs on coral of five to 20 miles offshore. Multiply this by the number of swimmers in the water and made a serious risk that runs the environment.

The chemical is highly toxic to corals, especially the young ones. Scientists have discovered four major toxicities associated with the exposure of coral all’oxybenzone. Toxicities, including coral bleaching, a phenomenon, say, associated with events such as high temperature of the sea surface, such as El Niño, which caused a mass die-off of coral reefs.

The report was published in the journal “Archives of Environmental Contamination & amp; Toxicology “.