Virgin Islands Legislature Approves Bill Banning 'Coral Harming' Sunscreen Ingredients

CHARLOTTE AMALIE — Lawmakers approved a bill that would ban the sale of sunscreens with ingredients that environmentalists say are harming the ocean.

The Virgin Islands Legislature on Monday unanimously passed bill number 33-0043, which bans the sale, distribution and import of sunscreen products containing oxybenzone and octinoxate.

Environmentalists welcomed the vote, calling the products toxic and harmful to coral and marine life. Island Green Living Association, a nonprofit group that supported the proposal, said the “toxic” chemicals are at 40 times acceptable levels in some of our waters.

“Oxybenzone, octinoxate and octocrylene devastate coral and marine life and are also known carcinogenic and hormone disruptors in humans,” Harith Wickrema, president of Island Green Living Association, said in a statement. “In addition to environmental and human harm, tourism-based economies will experience financial devastation if coral and marine life die off. The ripple effect would be huge and we need to take action now.”

Read more: http://vifreepress.com/2019/06/legislature-approves-bill-banning-coral-harming-sunscreen-ingredients/