A review of environmental contamination and potential health impacts on aquatic life from the active chemicals in sunscreen formulations

Nial J. Wheate

doi:10.1071/CH21236

REVIEW (Open Access)

Next Contents Vol 75(4)

A review of environmental contamination and potential health impacts on aquatic life from the active chemicals in sunscreen formulations

Nial J. Wheate

^A ^*

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A Sydney Pharmacy School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.

Nial Wheate completed a BSc (Hons I) and PhD in chemistry at the University of New South Wales while serving as an officer in the Royal Australian Navy. In 2005, he was appointed a Senior Fellow at the School of Biomedical and Health Sciences at Western Sydney University, and then in 2007 a Lectureship at the University of Strathclyde’s Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences. In 2012 he was appointed a Senior Lecturer, and in 2018 was promoted to Associate Professor, in The University of Sydney (USYD) School of Pharmacy. In 2020 he was awarded a DSc and in 2021 an MBA, both from USYD.

^* Correspondence to: nial.wheate@sydney.edu.au

Handling Editor: Amanda Ellis

Australian Journal of Chemistry 75(4) 241-248 https://doi.org/10.1071/CH21236
Submitted: 15 September 2021 Accepted: 17 January 2022 Published: 15 March 2022

© 2022 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

The active chemicals in sunscreen formulations are released into the environment from human skin, and found in recreational-use waters like seawater, but can also be washed into fresh water from bathing and showering. The level of sunscreen chemicals found in samples varies considerably between regions, time of year (higher in summer months), and time of day. Average typical concentrations are only in the nanograms per litre (ng L⁻¹) range in marine and fresh water systems, and typically, the highest levels are in waste-water sludge because of a concentrating effect during the treatment process. From numerous studies, it is known that the active chemicals in sunscreens can have potential hormonal/oestrogenic activity and non-hormonal effects, including: acting as teratogens, altering gene regulation, inducing changes in antioxidant and free radical production, and inducing coral bleaching. However, the effects of sunscreens on aquatic life under laboratory conditions typically occur only at concentrations (µg or mg L⁻¹) that far exceed (10–10 000-fold) levels found in the environment. As such, when damage does occur to reefs and animal life, there are often other causes that are more likely impacting the aquatic life including changes in water temperature, water turbidity, elevated nutrient levels, and the presence of pesticides and medicines used for human and animal health.

Keywords: aquatic, contamination, coral, damage, environment, ingredients, ocean, sunscreen.

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