Trending
The Maui News
A scientific journal article co-authored by two Maui County Council members documents how sunscreen washed off at beach showers poses a threat to shore and marine ecosystems.
Craig Downs, Ph.D., is the lead author of the article, "Beach showers as sources of contamination for sunscreen pollution in marine protected areas and areas of intensive beach tourism in Hawaii, U.S.A," which was published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials this month. Council Members Kelly Takaya King and Tamara Paltin were co-authors on the article.
Downs advised the council on Ordinance 5306, which was enacted last year and will take effect on Oct. 1, banning the sale and use of "nonmineral sunscreen" in Maui County without a prescription, unless the sunscreen is approved by the FDA.
"Beachgoers put on their sunscreen, swim at Hawaii's beaches and wash off the day at beach park showers," King, who holds the South Maui residency seat, said in a news release Thursday. "Unfortunately, none of these showers are plumbed with drains to the municipal sewer system, but instead drain right onto the beach and back into the waters."
In 2019, sands in nearby runoff streams from public beach showers were sampled on three Hawaiian islands and tested for more than 18 different petrochemical UV filters, according to the article's abstract. Beach sands directly in the plume discharge of beach showers on Maui, Oahu and Hawaii island were found to be contaminated with a wide array of petrochemical-based UV filters found in sunscreens, with levels of oxybenzone highest at a beach shower in the Waikiki area.
Some of the same sunscreen chemicals found in beach showers were also detected in water samples on coral reefs adjacent to the showers, according to the abstract. Risk assessments for both sand and water samples at a majority of the sites had a risk quotient over 1, "indicating that these chemicals could pose a serious threat to beach zones and coral reef habitats." The article suggested solutions like "banning the use of sunscreens with petrochemical-based UV filters or educating tourists before they arrive on the beach."
King noted that Maui County's Department of Environmental Management said they would use a multifaceted approach to address sunscreen pollution, including educational efforts online, at beaches and with tourist-oriented recreational companies.
Other solutions discussed in the journal include:
• Encouraging sun-protective clothing and visiting beaches during less sun-intense times of the day.
• Plumbing beach park shower drains to municipal sewage systems.
• Collecting shower grey water in holding containers, treating it to destroy or remove the chemicals and then safely discharging the water into the environment.
An abstract of the article is available online at doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.129546.
To view the sunscreen ordinance, visit tinyurl.com/SunscreenOrdinance.
For more information on the article or the ordinance, contact King at kelly.king@mauicounty.us, Paltin at tamara.paltin@mauicounty.us or Downs at info@haereticus-lab.org.