Want to Kill A Coral Reef? Go Swimming With Sunscreen, Study Says

[Yopaz]

I think there are better ways to preserve coral reefs, like not swimming near them at all, because they can lead to human injury in the first place. Plus, there's the fishmen and the deep ones...

The problem is that when chemicals are released into the sea they reach the reefs without you being directly near them. It's transferred to plankton which are eaten by the coral larvae or they simply diffuse there. Of course not swimming near there and restricting fishing are also necessary, but I am not sure it would be enough.

 

[FalloutJack]

I think there are better ways to preserve coral reefs, like not swimming near them at all, because they can lead to human injury in the first place. Plus, there's the fishmen and the deep ones...

The problem is that when chemicals are released into the sea they reach the reefs without you being directly near them. It's transferred to plankton which are eaten by the coral larvae or they simply diffuse there. Of course not swimming near there and restricting fishing are also necessary, but I am not sure it would be enough.

It's a start. Coral reefs are dangerous, as is. And while I don't know how fast the diluting properties of a salty ocean works, it's more than zero and no guarantee that any - or as much - of the chemical ever reaches the reef if people aren't damn well near it, anyway.

 

[Yopaz]

I think there are better ways to preserve coral reefs, like not swimming near them at all, because they can lead to human injury in the first place. Plus, there's the fishmen and the deep ones...

The problem is that when chemicals are released into the sea they reach the reefs without you being directly near them. It's transferred to plankton which are eaten by the coral larvae or they simply diffuse there. Of course not swimming near there and restricting fishing are also necessary, but I am not sure it would be enough.

It's a start. Coral reefs are dangerous, as is. And while I don't know how fast the diluting properties of a salty ocean works, it's more than zero and no guarantee that any - or as much - of the chemical ever reaches the reef if people aren't damn well near it, anyway.

The problem is biomagnification, if toxic chemicals were simply diluted then it wouldn't be much of a problem. They don't accumulate in chemical aggregations, they aggregate because they are ingested by small animals and plants. Larger animals eat a given quantity of them which increases the concentration. These chemicals work on the endocrine system meaning they can be harmful at extremely low concentrations. It's not as simple as chemicals being diluted. It's the effect a chemical can have in an ecosystem rather than in a chemical system and even if it was oxybenzone isn't very soluble in water making it extremely slow to dilute.

So while it is a good idea to do the things you said, we will still harm the ecosystem by releasing pollutants into the ocean. We can't do just one of the things and say "at least we tried" after we've failed.

 

[Lightspeaker]

Luckily exposure to uv radiation doesn't cause skin cancer. Over exposure to it does.

Strictly speaking any amount of radiation exposure could cause cancer, albeit its very, very unlikely with low doses. Its down to random chance, with increasing amounts of radiation increasing the likelihood.

Fair point I guess, but the same could be said for cell division, breathing air, oxidative metabolism, aging and DNA damage from background radiation. My point is that simply getting some uv radiation isn't dangerous and the whole "Wear sunscreen or get cancer" schtick seems more like spreading fear amongst those who don't know better.

You're quite right, which is the problem with the whole thing and why a lot of the more hysterical stuff (as seen in the now-infamous Daily Mail) is laughed off. Ultimately its down to risk management; some things increase risk of cancer, some things decrease it. Some of those that increase risk are good for you in other ways. On the whole, as you point out, its just important to be sensible. Unfortunately its difficult to convey that message a lot of the time.

For me personally I rarely wear sunscreen and only do so because I'm worried about burning (I'm not a big sunbather on holiday, prefer to sit in the shade quietly with a book). Though considering the amount of mutagens and radioactive substances I've worked with for experiments over the past ten years or so the slight increase in risk from a little sun exposure doesn't exactly worry me. X-D

That isn't to say I'm going to go and lie on a sunbed for hours every day though.

On topic: A lot of our coral reefs are very, very badly screwed up. I had the privilege to do conservation research on what are probably the best preserved reefs in the world in Indonesia and even then there were dead areas and huge holes in the coral where locals had been fishing with explosives. Other parts of the world are much worse, a big part of that being because of over-tourism and how careless people can be. One of the things banned during our work was diving gloves. Simply because wearing gloves makes people more likely to poke and touch things.

Thanks for sharing your experiences, interesting to hear from someone with more intimate knowledge.

From those I spoke to diving on other reefs the Caribbean is in the worst state, although apparently the Great Barrier Reef is increasingly suffering because of the large numbers of people who go there and are careless about it. Its quite sad.

Though I did hear one story from a friend about a person who got their comeuppance. Apparently this person had had these like...Titanium reinforced gloves and consequently used to poke at EVERYTHING. Sticking their hands in holes and all that to harass the wildlife. Eventually, however, they messed up and stuck their hand in a hole which was the home of a Moray Eel. Didn't lose their finger purely because of the gloves but ended up with like half the bones in their hand broken from the bite.

In general people are just really bad at looking after the environment. I mean its hard to have NO impact but some people are rather ignorant about minimising it. First rule of actually working out there was unless you were taking a sample...you touch absolutely nothing. In fairness in a lot of cases that's because tons of things are lethally toxic.

 

[Yopaz]

You're quite right, which is the problem with the whole thing and why a lot of the more hysterical stuff (as seen in the now-infamous Daily Mail) is laughed off. Ultimately its down to risk management; some things increase risk of cancer, some things decrease it. Some of those that increase risk are good for you in other ways. On the whole, as you point out, its just important to be sensible. Unfortunately its difficult to convey that message a lot of the time.

For me personally I rarely wear sunscreen and only do so because I'm worried about burning (I'm not a big sunbather on holiday, prefer to sit in the shade quietly with a book). Though considering the amount of mutagens and radioactive substances I've worked with for experiments over the past ten years or so the slight increase in risk from a little sun exposure doesn't exactly worry me. X-D

That isn't to say I'm going to go and lie on a sunbed for hours every day though.

Yeah, the balance is important. Free radicals are a concern... but also essential. uv radiation causes cancer, but also produces vitamin D. Vitamin E prevents oxidative stress, but has also been shown to increase lethality in lung cancer. One substance can be used to scare thousands in one article and then make thousands believe it will cure all their diseases in the next. I have been working some with acrylamide when analyzing proteins and knowing the dangers associated with it so I have to admit I was shocked when the news reported that it is actually formed when preparing potatoes at high temperatures though... still not going to stop frying potatoes though...

From those I spoke to diving on other reefs the Caribbean is in the worst state, although apparently the Great Barrier Reef is increasingly suffering because of the large numbers of people who go there and are careless about it. Its quite sad.

Though I did hear one story from a friend about a person who got their comeuppance. Apparently this person had had these like...Titanium reinforced gloves and consequently used to poke at EVERYTHING. Sticking their hands in holes and all that to harass the wildlife. Eventually, however, they messed up and stuck their hand in a hole which was the home of a Moray Eel. Didn't lose their finger purely because of the gloves but ended up with like half the bones in their hand broken from the bite.

In general people are just really bad at looking after the environment. I mean its hard to have NO impact but some people are rather ignorant about minimising it. First rule of actually working out there was unless you were taking a sample...you touch absolutely nothing. In fairness in a lot of cases that's because tons of things are lethally toxic.

I've heard trawling has been really destructive to many reefs too. With global warming and ocean acidification things aren't looking good. I haven't really worked with animals or field work, but in the chemical labs I've always been told to not wear gloves unless I am working with something dangerous and then always think carefully about everything I do while wearing gloves. Bad glove practice may be harmful to yourself and others because we think it's safe.

I agree with what you're saying, we're too careless most of the time.

 

[FalloutJack]

Compression Space

Ah, well I did not mean to imply that that should be the only thing evar. I made that as a for-example, because it was simple and obvious and people don't do it when they should. I think removing prior would cause some of the problems listed by people here about the dangers to human skin, especially in those who are more avid swimmers. Our reefs are important, but so too is the battle against Mr. Sun.

 

[Lightspeaker]

I have been working some with acrylamide when analyzing proteins and knowing the dangers associated with it so I have to admit I was shocked when the news reported that it is actually formed when preparing potatoes at high temperatures though... still not going to stop frying potatoes though...

Oh SDS-PAGE? Yeah, the acrylamide can be kinda nasty, after a while you end up getting used to it though. Its not so bad when its locked up in the gel either. The really nasty stuff is the SDS powder itself because its a very fine powder that is an irritant. That's one of the few things that I was absolutely careful to make sure I had my gloves tucked into my lab coat, safety glasses in place and a face mask on. Didn't fancy the chemical burns, I've already had those from acid before now.

...but in the chemical labs I've always been told to not wear gloves unless I am working with something dangerous and then always think carefully about everything I do while wearing gloves. Bad glove practice may be harmful to yourself and others because we think it's safe.

Typically I just threw gloves on all the time but when you're working with human cells or infectious bacteria its usually a good idea to at least wear gloves. You end up becoming a bit jaded with the routine stuff which is probably bad but on the other hand familiarity reduces accidents as long as you're careful.

Though safety is somewhat relative. A friend of mine stabbed himself with a syringe that had had a lysed cell sample in it and the lysis buffer included 2-mercaptoethanol. He spoke to our health and safety officer who said he'd be fine...before slapping him with a big pile of accident paperwork to fill out. X-D

I have to admit even my University's safety officer stated (during a radiation safety lecture) that Biologists are the absolute worst at wearing appropriate safety gear. He once caught one particularly old-school professor mouth pipetting a radioactive isotope.

 

[Yopaz]

I have been working some with acrylamide when analyzing proteins and knowing the dangers associated with it so I have to admit I was shocked when the news reported that it is actually formed when preparing potatoes at high temperatures though... still not going to stop frying potatoes though...

Oh SDS-PAGE? Yeah, the acrylamide can be kinda nasty, after a while you end up getting used to it though. Its not so bad when its locked up in the gel either. The really nasty stuff is the SDS powder itself because its a very fine powder that is an irritant. That's one of the few things that I was absolutely careful to make sure I had my gloves tucked into my lab coat, safety glasses in place and a face mask on. Didn't fancy the chemical burns, I've already had those from acid before now.

Yeah, I've done quite a few Western Blots. These days I just use pre-made gels so the acrylamide isn't as big a problem anymore, the SDS is still a hassle though.

Typically I just threw gloves on all the time but when you're working with human cells or infectious bacteria its usually a good idea to at least wear gloves. You end up becoming a bit jaded with the routine stuff which is probably bad but on the other hand familiarity reduces accidents as long as you're careful.

Though safety is somewhat relative. A friend of mine stabbed himself with a syringe that had had a lysed cell sample in it and the lysis buffer included 2-mercaptoethanol. He spoke to our health and safety officer who said he'd be fine...before slapping him with a big pile of accident paperwork to fill out. X-D

I have to admit even my University's safety officer stated (during a radiation safety lecture) that Biologists are the absolute worst at wearing appropriate safety gear. He once caught one particularly old-school professor mouth pipetting a radioactive isotope.

My samples are ideally quite clean so I wear gloves to protect my samples rather than myself (with some exceptions) and I am always really careful at not touching anything but the reagents and my samples. I am working with human cells so I need hepatitis vaccine to be safe though.

I have heard a few similar stories as you. For example one mouth.pipetting concentrated sulphuric acid and spent a week feeling the effects of it afterwards. Yeah... safety is important.