Coral reefs reportedly damaged by sunscreen use

Microbeads finding their way into aquatic food chains and the shocking harm that can be done by non-biodegradable packaging has made it explicitly clear that once we have finished using these products, they do not simply vanish into the ether and they can, in fact, continue to cause serious problems. 

Coral reefs are particularly delicate organic structures, and relatively small changes to the ecology of its environment can cause enormous damage. The Great Barrier Reef, the largest coral reef system in the world has been reported to be suffering the effects of climate change, sediment run-off, pesticides, and mining pollution, among other issues. 

In October 2015 there were numerous reports in the media1 that sunscreens, in particular one ingredient – oxybenzone – have also been implicated in the depletion of coral. Oxybenzone, which is found in 3,500 sunscreen products is a UV filter, and the study published in the Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology2 found particularly high concentrations of oxybenzone in Hawaii and the Caribbean.