(790i) Research Explore Removing Zinc Oxide from the coastal marine environments prone to excessive sunscreen runoff.

With recent highlights of the state of coral reefs and help from social media, the public has finally become aware of the adverse consequences of the widely used chemical, Oxybenzone, in conventional sunscreen, as well as its direct effect on coral bleaching. The issue has become so prevalent in coastal areas, that a prohibition of Oxybenzone will take action in Florida and Hawaii in 2021 (Calderone, par. 1-2). To support the movement, consumers have been taking it on their own behalf to choose “coral reef safe” sunscreens. The two prominent ingredients in the eco-friendly sunscreen movement are Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide. Recent studies, however, point to evidence that these two chemicals may not be as Eco-friendly as producers are suggesting.

Zinc Oxide in sunscreen has a tendency to dissolve into Zinc ions in water, and with decreasing the particle size, there is an increase in the likelihood of releasing free ions. The effects of Zinc ions in water has been shown to promote the growth of algae. Additionally, ZnO showed increased effects in solutions that were aged, suggesting that the true effects of the chemical won't be apparent until later on.

On the other hand, initially, it may seem intuitive to pursue Titanium Dioxide sunscreen. Unfortunately, Titanium Dioxide is a 2B carcinogen, meaning that while it is not a confirmed fact yet, it may cause cancer to humans (Smijs, par 21).

Additionally, new generation organic sunscreens, while they have been on the market for the past few years in the EU, cannot be used yet as the compounds they contain have not yet been approved in the U.S. by the FDA.