The state of Hawaii has voted to ban suncream products that use chemicals harmful to their coral reefs.
The bill, which was introduced by Democratic Senator Mike Gabbard, will ban any products containing chemicals oxybenzone and octinoxate.
According to the BBC, these chemicals are used in over 3,500 of the most popular sunscreen products.
The bill was passed by the Hawaii State Senate, and will now go before the state’s Democratic governor David Ige, who is likely to sign the bill. The bill would not come into effect until 2021.
We passed SB2571 which bans the sale of sunscreen with oxybenzone and octinoxate which harms our coral reefs. Hawaii is the first state in the nation to pass a measure of this magnitude. The world was watching. We delivered. Preserve and protect our ocean environment! pic.twitter.com/fiPSuiarBI
— Will C. Espero (@Espero808) April 28, 2018
Coral reefs across the world are suffering as a result of chemical bleaching. Recently, a $379 million strategy was announced in order to save the Great Barrier Reef from dying.
One of the authors of the report that led to Hawaii’s new law wrote “any small effort to reduce oxybenzone pollution could mean that a coral reef survives a long, hot summer, or that a degraded area recovers.”
Democratic Senator Mike Gabbard, who introduced the bill, told the Honolulu Star Advertiser it would become “a first in the world of law” fi the governor signs the bill.
He added:
“Hawaii is definitely on the cutting edge by banning these dangerous chemicals in sunscreens.
“This will make a huge difference in protecting our coral reefs, marine life, and human health.”
