2023-07-07 03:08:30
Par
AFP-Relaxnews
Published on
Jul 3, 2023
Beneficial for combating the harmful effects of ultraviolet rays, sun creams and oils are much less so for coral reefs. In question, the presence of chemical compounds such as oxybenzone which participate in the process of coral bleaching, in other words their programmed decline. To deal with this, scientists in Eilat, on the Red Sea coast, have developed a sunscreen formulated to nourish corals threatened with extinction.
Tourists would use between 16,000 and 25,000 tons of sunscreen each year in tropical countries, which would potentially represent a rejection of 4,000 to 6,000 tons of sunscreen in reef areas, as revealed by a study presented in the scientific journal Environmental Health Outlook.
While it is impossible, and even totally inadvisable, to no longer guard against the harmful effects of ultraviolet rays, many brands are now working to offer sunscreens with cleaner formulas. This includes the elimination of the most harmful chemical compounds, such as oxybenzone and octinoxate, but scientists are trying to go even further by offering products that could reverse – as much as possible – the mechanism that contributes to the coral bleaching.
So did marine biologists and skincare experts who worked hand-in-hand to develop a sunscreen that protects against the harmful effects of ultraviolet rays while promoting the growth of endangered coral reefs. extinction. An initiative born under the sun of Eilat, a seaside town in southern Israel that is home to the Coral Beach underwater reserve with a hundred species of coral and several hundred species of fish. An area that the municipality is working to preserve from the misdeeds of mass tourism, and more particularly from the dangers inherent in the use of sunscreens not formulated for the protection of the oceans.
A mixture of trace elements
Called Reef Relief, this new kind of sun protection was formulated from a mineral sunscreen without any nanoparticles, via titanium dioxide, and contains a “tailor-made blend of trace elements used by breeders of corals to feed them and promote their growth”, specify the experts at the origin of this initiative in a press release. With a sun protection factor (SPF) of 30 to 50, this sunscreen can also boast of highlighting a new certification: the RPF for ‘Reef Protection Factor’, in other words a reef protection factor. The goal is to help establish a new industry-wide standard to help consumers make informed choices.
“Developing a sunscreen that not only doesn’t harm corals, but can also nourish our reefs, is an important step in protecting and preserving our oceans. Reef Relief could contribute to the health underwater and terrestrial communities,” says Giovanni Giallongo, a marine biologist at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Eilat. And to add that the RPF certification is “a way to identify sunscreens that actually take care of corals. An RPF mark as an industry standard: this could be a game-changer”.
However, it will be necessary to wait a little before being able to brush on this cream which is still at this stage the subject of tests and trials. “We thank you for your patience and hope that Reef Relief will soon be available for sale”, can we read on the website dedicated to this find. In the meantime, it is possible to set your sights on sun protection that already banishes the most problematic chemical compounds to preserve the health of the skin like that of the seabed.
(ETX Daily Up)
All rights of reproduction and representation reserved. © 2023 AFP-Relaxnews.
1688701690
#sunscreen #protects #skin #promotes #growth #corals