[Coral-List] Harmful effects of suntan lotion on coral reefs?

Mon Mar 8 10:58:56 EST 2010

Bob,

I thought about my comment being misinterpreted a minute after sending. I in no way intended to say laboratory toxicity testing was somehow illegitimate.   With regard to results of tank (or plastic bag) experiments, I also agree with you 100%.  This experiment and others mentioned in other posts clearly demonstrates that you should not tend living corals in tanks or other small containers while slathered in sunscreens.  My point was that a statement in the conclusion of the Danovaro et al. paper that they, "predict that the impact of sunscreens on coral bleaching WILL grow considerably in the future on a global scale" based on experiments in 2 liter whirl pack bags is not legitimate.  I doubt you disagree.  I agree there is certainly a remote possibility, but this paper did not attempt to demonstrate that.  Until measurements are made next to coral on the reef that detects the contaminants in question, even at the ppb level, making statements similar to the above or creating laws banning the use of sunscreens is not based on good science.  I would expect thousands of compounds placed inside a whirlpack with corals would also have an impact, probably even saliva or urine. If you know about in situ measurements in Hanauma Bay demonstrating higher than ppb levels of sunscreen contaminants around corals, that would be enlightening. 

Greg

-----Original Message-----
From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov [mailto:coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov] On Behalf Of Robert Miller
Sent: Saturday, March 06, 2010 1:22 AM
To: Boland, Gregory S
Cc: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Harmful effects of suntan lotion on coral reefs?

Greg,
It is not necessary for work to be conducted in the field to be
considered legitimate.  If you required that, virtually no evidence
for the toxicity of anything would be "legitimate."  Tests for the
effects of endocrine disruptors in frogs?  Done in tanks.  Effects of
herbicides on stream invertebrates?  tanks.  Evidence for toxicity to
humans is often done on cultured cells.  One can't do meaningful
experiments on toxicity, in general, in the field.  Unfortunately,
some do not believe that something they can't see might have an
effect.  It is certainly possible that sunscreen ingredients may
affect corals.  Many toxicants have effects, sometimes sublethal, at
ppb or lower levels.  I'd be surprised if sunscreen concentrations
were that low in nearshore Hanauma Bay, for example, many days of the
year.  The 'in situ' nature of the experiments in the paper you cite
has questionable merit, but the results are not dismissible based on
your argument.  If it were, chemical companies everywhere would
rejoice, and the EPA would be out of business.
Bob Miller

On Fri, Mar 5, 2010 at 7:01 AM, Boland, Gregory S
<Gregory.Boland at mms.gov> wrote:
> Yes, that paper, Danovaro et al. 2008
> http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2291018/, was the initial
> stimulus for the recent postings and mentioned at the beginning of this
> thread.  The paper claimed to demonstrate impacts on corals in situ (in
> the title, Sunscreens Cause Coral Bleaching by Promoting Viral
> Infections, abstract, etc) by extrapolating exposure experiments in
> small plastic bags.  That is simply not legitimate. I would guess the
> experiments using Coppertone mentioned earlier were also in small
> volume-closed systems as well.
>
> Greg Boland
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Barb [mailto:barb at undertheseanevis.com]
> Sent: Friday, March 05, 2010 7:04 AM
> To: reefball at reefball.com; hreyes at uabcs.mx
> Cc: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov; Boland, Gregory S;
> catherine.head at zsl.org
> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Harmful effects of suntan lotion on coral
> reefs?
>
> Wasn't there a paper recently(a year or so ago) that said that sunscreen
> reduces the resistance of corals to disease?
>
> Barb Whitman
> Nevis
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Todd Barber [mailto:reefball at reefball.com]
> To: hreyes at uabcs.mx
> Cc: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov, Gregory.Boland at mms.gov,
> catherine.head at zsl.org
> Sent: Thu, 4 Mar 2010 15:33:03 -0500
> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Harmful effects of suntan lotion on coral
> reefs?
>
> >From practical experience, I can tell you that oil free suntan lotions
> do not appear to harm corals.  Several years ago, we traced back the
> death of some coral fragments that were being propagated and held for
> periods of up to a few hours in plastic coolers to volunteers using
> suntan oils that coated the surface of the water and inhibited oxygen
> transfer into the constrained water causing stagnation and coral stress.
>
> Switching to oil free suntan lotions for all members of our Coral Teams
> that handle corals (especially in tank settings) solved the issue.
>
> Applying this to the ocean setting, the only practical issue of harm to
> corals that I could hypothesize is that during warm ocean temperature
> days, in areas with limited circulation and low wind, concentrations of
> tourists (like when cruise ships unload a mass of snorkels on a small
> protected bay) might give rise to lower oxygen concentrations in the
> water that might stress some coral.  (As any oil that blocks surface to
> air exchange can do).
>
> This is perhaps just another example that as scientists, we need to be
> clear about our messages, because when it gets translated to "practical"
> applications the message is often distorted (often with only good
> intentions).  I find these distortions are often magnified when language
> and educational barriers  such as may be the case in Mexico (research
> papers don't always translate very well!).
>
>
> Thanks,
>
> Todd R Barber
> Chairman, Reef Ball Foundation
> 3305 Edwards Court
> Greenville, NC 27858
> 252-353-9094 (Direct)
> 941-720-7549 (Cell & Goggle Voice)
> toddbarber Skype
>
> www,reefball.org (Reef Ball Foundation)
> www.artificialreefs.com (Designed Artificial Reefs) www.reefbeach.com
> (Reefs for Beach Erosion) www.eternalreefs.com (Memorial Reefs)
> www.reefball.com (Reef Ball Foundation)
>
>
>
> On Mon, Mar 1, 2010 at 11:00 AM, Hector Reyes <hreyes at uabcs.mx> wrote:
>>
>> dear coral listers, is this true? the so called damage to corals by
>> suntan lotions has no real foundation? It would be really interesting
>> that a "coral legend" has been the cause why Mexican marine parks
>> force people to avoid application of any solar protection (sometimes
>> by law; the rule is actually in some management plans), and that way
>> probably are affecting their health by UV skin damage...
>>
>> Hector Reyes
>> UABCS, La Paz
>>
>>
>>
>>> Catherine,
>>>
>>> There was one paper that was published in April 2008 that
>>> misrepresented the subject title by implying it related to impacts in
>
>>> the field. ?I believe this is the one that stirred some debate at the
>
>>> time and other unfounded implications of actual impact of sunscreens
>>> on corals. ?I posted a comment to the list in May. ?The paper is by
>>> Danovaro et al. in Elemental Health Perspectives. ?This work exposed
>>> corals to sunscreen inside 2 l plastic bags, a far cry from what
> would happen in open water...
>>> The paper's conclusions directly implied in situ impacts by saying
>>> "up to 10% of the world reefs is (sic) potentially threatened by
>>> sunscreen induced coral bleaching." and "Actions are therefore needed
>
>>> to stimulate the research and utilization of UV filters that do not
>>> threaten the survival." ?As mentioned previously; at best,
>>> "potential" can be claimed, but nothing more without some evidence of
>
>>> actual impacts in open water. ?If there is any new research that
>>> obtained measured signatures of sunscreen in open water next to a
>>> coral with snorkelers overhead, that would be remarkable.
>>>
>>> Greg Boland
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>>> [mailto:coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov] On Behalf Of
>>> Catherine Head
>>> Sent: Monday, March 01, 2010 5:59 AM
>>> To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>>> Subject: [Coral-List] Harmful effects of suntan lotion on coral
> reefs?
>>>
>>>
>>> Dear all,
>>>
>>> I'm looking for information and any evidence of the harmful effects
>>> of suntan lotion on corals.
>>> If you know of any papers or research on this topic I'd very much
>>> appreciate it if you could please let me know (email:
>>> catherine.head at zsl.org).
>>>
>>> Many thanks for your attention,
>>>
>>> Catherine
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>
>>
>> --
>> H?ctor Reyes Bonilla
>> Universidad Aut?noma de Baja California Sur Departamento de Biolog?a
>> Marina Apartado postal 19-B, CP 23080. La Paz, B.C.S.
>> MEXICO
>>
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-- 
Robert J. Miller
Bren School of Environmental Science and Management
University of California Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara CA 93109-5131
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