We praise him every summer. It guarantees healthy skin and is protected from UV rays. What is less known, however, is that this sunscreenwhich pampers our skins at the same time mistreats the oceans. Several scientists have already warned of the dangers of UV cream on the environment but it is a latest Italian study that beats the recall. Published in the journal Environmental Health Perpectives, the work of the Polytechnic University of Marche in Ancona in Italy points to the chemical components of conventional sunscreen accused of slowly poisoning the aquatic environment.
The culprits, here they are: zinc oxide and titanium dioxide which are used to filter UV. They attack corals and essential elements of marine flora such as zooxanthellae, a micro-algae and phytoplankton (plant plankton).
“Sunscreens cause rapid and complete bleaching of coral reefs, even at extremely low concentrations”, summarize the researchers in the study, taken up by Maxisciences.
Numerous coral reefs are thus threatened by 4,000 to 6,000 tonnes of sunscreen residue which flood them each year.
The solution to prevent an ecological disaster? Go from Solar creamclassic organic (labeled), more respectful of the environment because composed of mineral filters and not synthetic.
>> To read also:Organic sunscreens: can we trust them?
