A leading environmental charity has called for holiday makers and water enthusiasts to use only eco-compatible sunscreen products if they plan to enter the water.
Professor Roberto Danovaro, Director of Marche Polytechnic University in Italy, whose research into the effects of sunscreen on coral has prompted serious concerns among environmentalists, describes the catastrophic effect of standard sunscreens on coral in a hard-hitting film by environmental charity The Going Blue Foundation.
Standard sunscreens play a significant part in the deterioration of coral reefs and other marine life. When the sunscreen molecules wash off in the ocean they enter coral and the algae it feeds on, causing dormant viruses in the algae to multiply exponentially and killing it. With nothing left to feed on the coral then bleaches and wide areas of coral reef can die.
Prof Danovaro said: “We started investigating the impact of sunscreens in Mediterranean waters in 2000 and discovered that they promote the proliferation of bacteria. We then carried out studies in different coral reefs around the world from the Coral Triangle in Indonesia, to Mexico and the Red Sea and discovered that the use of even minimal amounts of standard sunscreens, can cause a viral epidemic that kills coral within a few hours.”
