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Archives for July 2018

Does Sunscreen Damage Freshwater Lakes??

July 28, 2018

July, Canadian Broadcasting Company.

My question is: I hear a sunscreen is killing the coral in the oceans and I’m wondering what it’s doing to our lakes? Does anyone know?

Britt Wray:  

And for answer we go to Dr. Linda Campbell of St. Mary’s University, and because Dr. Campbell is deaf, the voice you’re hearing is that of SMU staff interpreter Ashley Campbell.

Linda Campbell:

My name is Dr. Linda Campbell and I’m here in lovely Halifax Nova Scotia and I’m a professor here at St. Mary’s University and an environmental scientist.

I’m here to answer the question from our listener “does sunscreen cause damage to freshwater lakes similar to the damage done in coral reefs?”

So the short answer yes, but it does look different. The impacts unfortunately of many types of UV filters found in common sunscreen brands really are known to kill the organisms that form coral reefs. And as you know, Hawaii just recently actually banned many types of sunscreen.

Now freshwater lakes are not immune to the impacts from these UV filters similar to coral reefs. And there are two kinds that we are worried about: One is the carbon based UV filters and the other is nano-particulate UV filters, and that’s using zinc and titanium. Both of these types of filters negatively impact algae and fish in lakes.

The damage isn’t as obvious and as visible as the bleaching to coral reefs, but they’re still there and the damages for example include DNA damage, bio-accumulation of harmful chemicals, and lower quality and quantity of food sources at the base of the food web.

It’s easy to find sunscreen brands that contain less harmful components for the ecosystem and they don’t have those nano particulates, or have less harmful UV filters within them.

You can do some research online and look for coral reef friendly sunscreen and then you can find those brands online quite easily and it’s less harmful to the ecosystem.

Britt Wray:

Dr Linda Campbell is an environmental scientist at St Mary’s University in Halifax.

Filed Under: Streams and Rivers, Water Contamination, Water Pollution

Officials to discuss elevated risk cesspools pose…

July 9, 2018

West Hawaii Today; Max Dible, 25 June 2018:  Every day cesspools throughout Hawaii send an excess of harmful nutrients pouring into nearshore ocean water and threatening to infiltrate the freshwater drinking supply.  Hawaii island is home to tens of thousands of them representing nearly half of the known cesspools used throughout the state.  With the deadline of 2050 to shut down every one of them, the State Department of Health has scheduled informational community meetings in both Kailua Kona and Hilo…

…When cesspool seepage intermingles with ground water, it can find its way into aquifer drawn on by the county.  This is generally less of a concern at the deep well sites, which can range between 1,000 and 2,000 feet in depth and supply Hawaii island with most of its drinking water…

For the rest of the article see…

 

Filed Under: Groundwater, Stormwater, Water Contamination, Water Pollution

17-19 July 2018 Construction Stormwater Quality Workshops

July 1, 2018

Enhance your ability to efficiently serve your clients, in a
manner compliant with the new Hawaii Water Quality Rules. Learn
the latest “how to” and best practices for design, plans
review, construction, and post construction stormwater
quality, one year in to implementing the new Water Quality
Rules. The workshop is expected to include staff leaders
from within the City and the design and construction
industry working together to protect our waters.

This is the link to the registration…

 

 

Filed Under: Rainfall, Stormwater, Streams and Rivers, Water Contamination

About Hawaii First Water

This blog focuses on shaping water strategies for the Hawaiian Islands.

Articles

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  • The lawsuit over Hawaii’s Red Hill water contamination crisis has drawn in more than 100 new plaintiffs
  • Hawaii Postcards 2050
  • Visions of the Future, Part 2
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