Key West To Ban Popular Sunscreen Ingredients To Protect Coral Reef
Source: NPR
Key West To Ban Popular Sunscreen Ingredients To Protect Coral Reef
February 6, 20197:35 AM ET
MATTHEW S. SCHWARTZ
Key West voted late Tuesday to ban the sale of sunscreens containing certain chemicals linked to coral reef bleaching. The ban is set to go into effect Jan. 1, 2021.
The Key West City Commission voted 6-1 to ban the sale, within city limits, of sunscreens that contain oxybenzone or octinoxate, the Miami Herald reports. Some studies have linked the chemicals to cellular damage in coral reefs. But industry officials challenged the ban, saying the link between the chemicals and coral bleaching isn't proven.
Only one living coral reef exists in North America, and it lives about six miles off the Keys. "We have one reef, and we have to do one small thing to protect that," said Mayor Teri Johnston. "It's our obligation."
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The banned chemicals are present in most of the sunscreens on sale in the U.S., NPR has reported. Up to 70 percent of sunscreens on the U.S. market contain oxybenzone, and up to 8 percent contain octinoxate. That includes offerings by Neutrogena, Copperstone, and Aveeno.
The industry, as well as some doctors, have fought the Key West ban. At Tuesday's meeting, "some dermatologists and industry lobbyists showed up to say banning the sale of such sunscreens would increase rates of skin cancer and likely discourage people from using any at all," the Herald reports.
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Read more: https://www.npr.org/2019/02/06/691913378/key-west-votes-to-ban-popular-sunscreen-ingredients-to-protect-coral-reef
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