Abstract
Considering the rapid growth of tourism in recent years and the acknowledgement that exposure to solar UV radiation may cause skin cancer, sunscreens have been widely used by beachgoers in recent decades. UV filters contained in sunscreens, however, were recently identified as emerging pollutants in coastal waters since they accumulate in the marine environment with different adverse effects. In fact, exposure to these components was proven to be toxic to most invertebrate and vertebrate marine species. Some UV filters are linked to the production of significant amounts of reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as hydrogen peroxide, and the release of inorganic micronutrients that may alter the status of coastal habitats. Bioaccumulation and biomagnification have not yet been fully addressed. This review highlights recent progress in research and provides a comprehensive overview of the toxicological and ecotoxicological effects of the most used UV filters both on the abiotic and biotic compartments in different types of coastal areas, to gain a better understanding of the impacts on coastal biodiversity.
Highlights
During the last decade, tourism has seen massive growth and is among the economic sectors expected to experience constant development in the future
Water environments are at high risk, and plenty of research has been devoted to studying them: fragile balances regulate these environments, in the coastal areas, for they are very rich in biodiversity and the ecosystem services provided by these areas sustain half of the planet population [3]
An alarming fact about organic UV filters is their diffusion in the planet’s waters, wherein some of these compounds can be indicated as ubiquitous contaminants in the oceans: in a study conducted on marine water between the Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean and the Arctic Sea noted the presence, in each sample, of four UV filters (BP-3, OCR, butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane or avobenzone (BMDBM), and ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate (EHMC))
Summary
Tourism has seen massive growth and is among the economic sectors expected to experience constant development in the future. The related recreational activities, have led to a massive use of photoprotective personal care products (PCPs), which are highly and widely recommended to prevent skin damage from sun exposure [4,5,6], resulting in a direct input from swimming and bathing (non-point sources). These inputs, together with industrial wastewater discharges (point sources) [7,8,9], are capable of starting decay processes, irreversible at times [6]. The scientific community has started studying and investigating the causes and the effects of their accumulation in different ecosystems [4,15,16,17]
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