Sunscreen Products as Emerging Pollutants to Coastal Waters

Abstract

A growing awareness of the risks associated with skin exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation over the past decades has led to increased use of sunscreen cosmetic products leading the introduction of new chemical compounds in the marine environment. Although coastal tourism and recreation are the largest and most rapidly growing activities in the world, the evaluation of sunscreen as source of chemicals to the coastal marine system has not been addressed. Concentrations of chemical UV filters included in the formulation of sunscreens, such as benzophehone 3 (BZ-3), 4-methylbenzylidene camphor (4-MBC), TiO2 and ZnO, are detected in nearshore waters with variable concentrations along the day and mainly concentrated in the surface microlayer (i.e. 53.6–577.5 ng L-1 BZ-3; 51.4–113.4 ng L-1 4-MBC; 6.9–37.6 µg L-1 Ti; 1.0–3.3 µg L-1 Zn). The presence of these compounds in seawater suggests relevant effects on phytoplankton. Indeed, we provide evidences of the negative effect of sunblocks on the growth of the commonly found marine diatom Chaetoceros gracilis (mean EC50 = 125±71 mg L-1). Dissolution of sunscreens in seawater also releases inorganic nutrients (N, P and Si forms) that can fuel algal growth. In particular, PO4 3− is released by these products in notable amounts (up to 17 µmol PO4 3− g−1). We conservatively estimate an increase of up to 100% background PO4 3− concentrations (0.12 µmol L-1 over a background level of 0.06 µmol L-1) in nearshore waters during low water renewal conditions in a populated beach in Majorca island. Our results show that sunscreen products are a significant source of organic and inorganic chemicals that reach the sea with potential ecological consequences on the coastal marine ecosystem.

Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D, parathyroid hormone, calcium intake, and bone mineral density in Spanish adults

“…The association between vitamin D status and dairy calcium intake that we observed in our population would be in accordance with this idea. Finally, the higher use of sunscreen during summer, especially among women, would also contribute to explain these findings (38,39).…”

Emerging patterns for engineered nanomaterials in the environment: a review of fate and toxicity studies

“…There are still major strategic knowledge gaps for even the most widely used nanoparticles (NPs) involving their postproduction life cycles, including entry into the environment, environmental pathways, eventual environmental fate, and potential ecotoxicological effects. Actual environmental concentrations of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) are largely unknown (PeraltaVidea et al 2011), though recent release estimates have been completed (Gottschalk et al 2009;Hendren et al 2013;Tovar-Sánchez et al 2013) and there is emerging evidence that manufactured NPs (\100 nm), including TiO 2 , are present in wastewater (Kiser et al 2009;Westerhoff et al 2011) and waste leachate (Hennebert et al 2013).…”

The Interest in Nanomaterials for Topical Photoprotection

“…Concerning the impact on the environment, linked to the salting-out of TiO2 nanoparticles associated with the use of cosmetic products and more particularly with sunscreen products, there is almost no data at the present time [28][29][30][31]. As this risk cannot currently be assessed, for the same reason, neither can it be totally excluded.…”