Oxybenzone contamination from sunscreen pollution and its ecological threat to Hanauma Bay, Oahu, Hawaii, U.S.A.

Downs, C.A.; Bishop, E.; Diaz-Cruz, M.S.; Haghshenas, S.A.; Stien, D.; Rodrigues, A.M.S.; Woodley, C.M.; Sunyer-Caldú, A.; Doust, S.N.; Espero, W.; Ward, G.; Farhangmehr, A.; Samimi, S.M.T.; Risk, M.J.; Lebaron, P.; DiNardo, J.C.

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.132880

i

Oxybenzone contamination from sunscreen pollution and its ecological threat to Hanauma Bay, Oahu, Hawaii, U.S.A.

Supporting Files

2022
By Downs, C.A. ; Bishop, E. ; Diaz-Cruz, M.S. ; ...

Details

Journal Title:

Chemosphere
Personal Author:

Downs, C.A. ; Bishop, E. ; Diaz-Cruz, M.S. ; Haghshenas, S.A. ; Stien, D. ; Rodrigues, A.M.S. ; Woodley, C.M. ; Sunyer-Caldú, A. ; Doust, S.N. ; Espero, W. ; Ward, G. ; Farhangmehr, A. ; Samimi, S.M.T. ; Risk, M.J. ; Lebaron, P. ; DiNardo, J.C.
NOAA Program & Office:

NOS (National Ocean Service) ; NCCOS (National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science)
Description:

Hanauma Bay is a 101-acre bay created by the partial collapse of a volcanic cone and once supported a vibrant coral reef system. It is the most popular swimming area in the Hawaiian Islands and has been reported to have averaged between 2.8 and 3.5 million visitors a year between the 1980s and the 2010s, with visitors averaging between 3000–4000 a day and peaking around 10,000–13,000 per day. Concentrations of oxybenzone and other common UV filters were measured in subsurface water samples and in sands from the beach-shower areas in Hanauma Bay. Results demonstrate that beach showers also can be a source of sunscreen environmental contamination. Hydrodynamic modeling indicates that oxybenzone contamination within Hanauma Bay's waters could be retained between 14 and 50 h from a single release event period. Focusing on only oxybenzone, two different Hazard and Risk Assessment analyses were conducted to determine the danger of oxybenzone to Hanauma Bay's coral reef system. Results indicate that oxybenzone contamination poses a significant threat to the wildlife of Hanauma Bay. To recover Hanauma Bay's natural resources to a healthy condition and to satisfactorily conserve its coral reef and sea grass habitats, effective tourism management policies need to be implemented that mitigate the threat of sunscreen pollution.
Keywords:

Corals Risk Assessment Sunscreens (Cosmetics) Risk Assessment Hydrodynamic Modelling Oxybenzone Risk Assessment
Source:

Chemosphere 291 (2022) 132880
DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.132880
Format:

PDF
Document Type:

Journal Article
Place as Subject:

Hanauma Bay (Hawaii)
Rights Information:

Accepted Manuscript
Compliance:

Submitted
Main Document Checksum:

urn:sha256:0fd30f70f19af5426c987540c8c887a0944cc95819bc67a65f761e7e8084fe8f
Download URL:

https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/49697/noaa_49697_DS1.pdf
File Type:

[PDF - 769.93 KB ]

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