No, sunscreen chemicals are not bleaching the Great Barrier Reef

Sun, 10 Apr 2022 06:02:29 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://theconversation.com/no-sunscreen-chemicals-are-not-bleaching-the-great-barrier-reef-179938>

"For the sixth time in the last 25 years, the Great Barrier Reef is bleaching.
During bleaching events, people are quick to point the finger at different
causes, including sunscreen.

Why sunscreen? Some active ingredients can wash off snorkelers and into the
reef, contaminating the area. So could this be the cause of the Barrier Reef’s
bleaching?

In a word, no. I reviewed the evidence for sunscreen as a risk to coral in my
new research, and found that while chemicals in sunscreen pose a risk to corals
under laboratory conditions, they are only found at very low levels in real
world environments.

That means when coral bleaching does occur, it is more likely to be due to the
marine heatwaves and increased water temperatures that have come with climate
change, as well as land-based run-off."

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

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