Earlier in the semester, I did a blog post on whether brushing your teeth could be bad for the environment, specifically the ocean. However, this blog will focus on the possibility of sunscreen causing damage to coral reefs. There are many household applications that people don’t realize could be destroying parts of the environment without even realizing. First, I will layout why coral reefs are important to the Earth and then discuss if sunscreen usage is having a negative impact on these reefs.

Why are Coral Reefs Important?

There are few ecosystems on Earth that are more important and vital to the balance of the predator-prey relationship and support as much life than coral reefs.  For example, “Coral reefs cover less than 0.2% of our oceans but they contain 25% of the world’s marine fish species.”(Defenders of Wildlife) Along with having 1 out of 4 marine species living in coral reefs, these reefs can also be vital in protecting shorelines from storms and, “provide people with billions of dollars worth of food and jobs every year to people around the world.”(Defenders of Wildlife) If coral reefs were destroyed by humans, the consequences would impact much more than just the marine life that live there. For instance, “If reefs were to disappear, commonly consumed species of grouper and snapper could become just memories. Oysters, clams and other creatures that are vital to many people’s diets would also suffer. And experts say commercial fisheries would fail miserably at meeting demand for seafood.”(USA Today) Even though losing oysters, clams and others could be a hassle for some people, losing the ability to fish because of lack of marine species could have much more serious consequences. For example, “Southeast Asia’s coral reef fisheries alone are ! estimated to yield US$ 2.4 billion annually In developing countries, people depend on fishing to feed their families and make a living.”(WWF) Yes, you read that correctly, 2.4 BILLION DOLLARS! If coral reefs were to disappear, any progress made by third-world countries would deteriorate very quickly and would cause world hunger to become much more serious than it currently is(FAO).

Does Sunscreen destroy Coral Reefs?

Sure, there could be many causes for this destruction of coral reefs. Some would point to global warming, others would say over-fishing and both of which could very well be correct. However, I will solely focus on the possibility of sunscreen being a major factor. One study that would support the notion that sunscreen could be a major factor of the destruction of coral reefs conducted by many oceanic experts. From the information yielded from the experiment, the concluded that “a sunscreen chemical commonly used in many soaps, cosmetics, and body fragrances is highly toxic to corals. The team’s data show that even very low concentrations of benzophenone-2, or BP-2, can quickly kill juvenile corals.”(National Ocean Service) Not only does sunscreen appear to diminish fully grown coral reefs, there is also strong evidence that sunscreen can be stunting the growth of developing coral reefs.

The study also found that most coral reefs are being bleached, potentially by the chemical in sunscreen. For example, “The team also found that BP-2 causes colorful corals to bleach, and can potentially induce or increase the frequency of mutation in corals by causing damage to their DNA. BP-2 is not removed from most municipal wastewater treatment facilities. This discharge is often directly released in coastal waters of the Caribbean and the Indo-Pacific, threatening near-shore coral reefs.”(Ocean Service) Below is a picture of just how many coral reefs are being bleached and affected throughout the world

Skeptical Science

Therefore, most of this BP-2 is reaching the ocean without any difficulty because it is not being properly taken care. There is no way of knowing for sure if sunscreen is a main cause of the deterioration of coral reefs. However, there is strong evidence that would prove this hypothesis correct. By no means am I suggesting to not use sunscreen because diseases like skin cancer can occur. Just keep in mind, when you are going into the ocean, make sure you are not over-applying sunscreen. Other than that, there is very little that can be done at a grassroots level to prevent sunscreen from being linked to destroying coral reefs. In order to change this trend, the companies that make sunscreen must re-evaluate their process in order to take into account the effects it may have in the environment.