Dear Friends/Co-sailors,
For my today's pick section, I am sharing a news based on results of a study about how Benzophenone-2, a chemical used to manufacture daily use products, is killing coral reefs.
I hope you would find this informative and useful.
Thanks and regards,
Ranjan
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Common chemical kills coral reefs
Benzophenone-2, used to manufacture many soaps, shampoos and
other products, is killing young coral reefs at concentrations commonly found
in the environment.
A chemical found in many soaps, laundry detergents and
cosmetics is killing young coral reefs at concentrations commonly found in the
environment, according to a new study.
Corals, which provide habitat for a rich array of fish and
other marine life, are threatened worldwide. The new study is the first to find
that benzophenone-2 (BP-2) is toxic to coral reefs, although it builds upon
previous studies that reported that corals are harmed by other chemicals in
wastewater and runoff.
Researchers exposed baby corals in a laboratory to different
concentrations of BP-2, which is found in hundreds of personal care products.
Increased BP-2 exposure caused increased rates of coral death, DNA damage and
bleaching, which is when corals turn white, are stressed and more likely to
die.
The levels of BP-2 used in the study – ranging from 24 parts
per billion to 246 parts per million – are within what has been found in U.S.
wastewater effluent.
Once in the environment, BP-2 can quickly “kill juvenile
corals at very low concentrations – parts per billion,” the authors wrote.
“What’s worrying is that if this chemical harms young coral,
we won’t get coral recruitment around the world,” said Craig Downs, a
researcher at Haereticus Environmental Laboratory in Virginia who led the
study. “This will create coral zombies -- coral where’s there’s adults but not
recruited young, so the reef will eventually go away.”
The Caribbean alone has had roughly 80 percent of its corals
disappear over the past 50 years from pollution, development and climate
change. Pesticides, petroleum compounds and agricultural nutrients such as
phosphorous and nitrogen also threaten coral reef health.
"This is more bad news for coral reefs, more evidence
of the pervasive and pressing impacts of land- based sources of pollution,”
said Michael Risk, a professor at Canada’s McMaster University in a prepared
statement. Risk was not involved in the study.
“The results show that something humans use to protect their
skin or toiletries can reach the sea from wastewater discharges, and shut down
coral reproduction,” he said.
Downs warned of the economic impact. The roughly 1,200
square miles of coral reefs in the United States generate more than a billion
dollars per year due to coastal protection, fisheries, tourism, recreation and
biodiversity promotion, according to a 2003 study. The impact is even greater
for regions with more reefs area, such as Southeast Asia, which benefits
annually from corals to the tune of about $12.5 billion.
BP-2 also has been linked to cancer and thyroid disruption
in people.
The chemical is used to protect bath salts, body fragrances,
lotions, shampoos, soaps and laundry detergents from ultraviolet light, which
make products lose their color. It is
similar to oxybenzone, the active ingredient in many sunscreens, although it is
not used in U.S. sunscreens.
Often found in wastewater, it is considered an emerging
contaminant of concern by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
- Synopsis
by Brian Bienkowski, Jan 23, 2014
Source: http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/newscience/2014/Jan/coral-damage/
Its a valuable content shared,would like to know more about it.
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