The average boater spends just under six hours on the water per outing, according to a U.S. Coast Guard survey report. As prime boating for many takes place between 10 am and 4 pm — peak times for exposure to cancer-causing ultraviolet (UV) sun rays — sunscreen should be a part of every boater’s safety gear.
Yet buying just any sunscreen and bringing it aboard may have an unexpected consequence: damage to marine life. Being an eco-aware and sun safe boater involves integrating protection against overexposure to UV radiation with preventing injury to the environment.
Though there are many reasons for the stresses earth’s waterways experience, including changes in ocean temperatures, over fishing, and pollution, the bottom line is that what people cause, people can stop. One way to stop mistreating coral reefs and marine creatures is to cease going overboard with chemical containing products.
There are two main types of sunscreen — chemical sunscreens that absorb and neutralize the sun’s rays and mineral blockers that deflect them away. Along with certain soaps, cosmetics, shampoos, and body lotions, SPF products utilizing chemicals have been found to damage or kill coral and poison or alter the hormones of marine invertebrates.
Research shows that chemical UV filters may mimic hormones and disrupt the endocrine system of undersea dwellers and also cause the bleaching and eventual death of coral reefs and the creatures who call them home.
Chemicals in sunscreen (and cleansers and cosmetics) to avoid include oxybenzone, octinoxate, octocrylene, and benzophenone-2 (BP-2). These tend to be the active sun-absorbing ingredients, but besides avoiding them, don’t buy products containing parabens (another possible hormone disturber) and plant-based oils and/or beeswax (these could release insecticides into the water).
Mineral sunscreens aren’t all OK, either. Though most labels won’t tell you that the sunscreen is “reef safe” (some will), coral reef activists recommend the zinc or titanium be coated and the particles be large enough to keep them from entering the cells of invertebrates. Seek sunscreens designed to spare the environment — research via the link below.
If you’re thinking that these warnings don’t apply to you because you never go swimming off the boat or at a beach, please consider the way you apply sunscreen. If you reapply spray during the day, the excess can squirt overboard or stick to the sand and be washed in by high tide. Use lotions or creams instead as they tend to stick where intended.
Other ways to avoid sunscreen pollution include wearing sun blocking clothing, seeking shade for the midday hours of intense sun, and checking the UV index to avoid overexposure. These options may save time and money as well as spare the environment.
UV Index Mobile App
https://www.epa.gov/enviro/uv-index-mobile-app
Guide to Sunscreens
https://www.ewg.org/sunscreen/
Coral Reef Conservation
