Never mind global warming, coral reefs are facing an entirely different threat: your sunscreen. Believe it or not, scientists have recently discovered that the chemicals used to make ultra-violet (UV) filters contained in sunscreen are causing coral bleaching, which eventually causes the organism to die.

“Different sunscreen brands, protective factors and concentrations were compared, and all treatments caused bleaching of hard corals,” said the researchers, who were led by Roberto Danovaro, at the University of Pisa in Italy, in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

The lotion is said to wash off in the water and leave behind a residue. Researchers say that in order to protect the coral from further destruction, human contact with the reefs needs to be restricted.

"Our results provide strong scientific evidence of the potential impact of these products in tropical habitats and represent a pointer for outlining specific regulations for protecting coral reefs,” the team said.

A 20-minute dip in the sea could wash off about a quarter of the chemicals in the sun lotion, they said. They concluded: “According to these estimates, we believe that up to 10 per cent of the world's coral reefs would be threatened by sunscreen-induced coral bleaching.”

Some of the chemicals said to have a detrimental impact on coral reefs include parabens, cinnamates, benzophenones and camphor derivatives.

» Times Online