Protected Skin – Damaged Seas | Episode 16
With Craig Downs, Forensic Eco Toxicologist, Haereticus Environmental Laboratory,
We thought they were made to protect us, but the active ingredients in more than 3,500 sun care products are leaving a lasting mark on our rivers, lakes and oceans. Known as “swimmer pollution”, evidence is mounting that the harmful chemicals we happily smear on our bodies to protect ourselves from the sun are threatening marine environments and may have done irreversible damage to coral reefs and aquatic life around the world. On this episode of The Big Blue Marble, we slather on the research with Dr. Craig Downs, a forensic ecotoxicologist.
According to Downs, more than 100 million tonnes of sunscreen a year enter coastal areas around the world, and when it does, especially in the coral reef system, “it impacts all the organisms there.” The good news is, toxic chemical bans are now beginning , find out how you can practice “safe sun” without harming the seas.
