• Plastic Surgery Nursing notes “It has also been shown that there are more effective UV filters, such as zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, which do not carry the same environmental and health concerns as oxybenzone and octinoxate.”

And that’s all before you look at the recent FDA actions requesting major manufacturers to provide safety data for the first time in 40 years on sunscreen ingredients originally approved in the 1970s – safety data that industry has been unwilling or unable to provide to date.

The only ingredients the FDA still recognizes as safe and effective are zinc oxide and titanium dioxide which do not impact coral reefs or absorb into bloodstreams as their chemical counterparts do

While there is no proven cause-and-effect relationship between common sunscreen chemicals and adverse impacts, the FDA has confirmed that a single application of sunscreen containing oxybenzone resulted in concentrations more than 360 times its safety threshold.

At least nine of the sunscreen ingredients being reviewed are known endocrine disruptors that produce adverse developmental, reproductive, neurological, and immune effects in both humans and wildlife. Scientists are documenting a wide variety of impacts in humans, from infertility in men to endometriosis among women, and even an increased risk for potentially lethal birth defects. The increased use of chemical sunscreens may even help explain why unexplained infertility has become so prevalent.

And even as more and more people apply more and more sunscreen, more people are diagnosed with skin cancer each year in the U.S. than all other cancers combined and at least one in five Americans will develop skin cancer by the age of 70.

We absolutely agree that protecting skin from UV rays is critically important. The issue here is does the State of Florida make it illegal for local governments to ban ingredients that scientists, researchers and medical professionals agree should be avoided?

It makes no sense to us, we hope you agree.

Sincerely,
Autumn Blum
Founder and CEO
Stream2Sea

Oxybenzone and octinoxate, along with other chemicals on the HEL list, are being banned by many coastal communities. These have been shown in studies to damage coral by causing them to expel their symbiotic algae — a process called bleaching. The chemicals also impact free-swimming coral larvae, preventing the reef from replicating. In tourist-heavy bays and inlets, sunscreen pollutes the water to a large enough extent to damage reefs, according to 2016 research published in the journal Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology.

We’ve been making big waves about this sunscreen ban in the news. I had the privilege to go on-air with RTAmerica and talk about the importance of this sunscreen ban and why it means so much to our planet. You can watch that video clip by clicking HERE. Our VP, Mike Malterre also made an appearance on The Key West Perspective Podcast to discuss the ban, harmful chemicals, and what our company is doing to protect what we love — the reefs! You can listen to that episode by clicking HERE.

As reported by Dr. Craig Downs of Haereticus Environmental Laboratory, “Recently, oxybenzone and octinoxate in sunscreen products have been banned in Hawaii and Key West, as well as by countries such as Palau, Bonaire, and Aruba. These chemicals were banned because they posed a threat to the survival of coral reefs and other marine wildlife, but also because of the awareness that these chemicals could have adverse impacts on public health.”