Tag Archives: Amparo Salvador

Nanopollution of marine life

Concerns are being raised about nanosunscreens and nanotechnology-enabled marine paints and their effect on marine life, specifically, sea urchins. From a May 13, 2015 news item on Nanowerk (Note: A link has been removed),

Nanomaterials commonly used in sunscreens and boat-bottom paints are making sea urchin embryos more vulnerable to toxins, according to a study from the University of California, Davis [UC Davis]. The authors said this could pose a risk to coastal, marine and freshwater environments.

The study, published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology (“Copper Oxide and Zinc Oxide Nanomaterials Act as Inhibitors of Multidrug Resistance Transport in Sea Urchin Embryos: Their Role as Chemosensitizers”), is the first to show that the nanomaterials work as chemosensitizers. In cancer treatments, a chemosensitizer makes tumor cells more sensitive to the effects of chemotherapy.

Similarly, nanozinc and nanocopper made developing sea urchin embryos more sensitive to other chemicals, blocking transporters that would otherwise defend them by pumping toxins out of cells.

A May 12, 2015 UC Davis news release, which originated the news item, includes some cautions,

Nanozinc oxide is used as an additive in cosmetics such as sunscreens, toothpastes and beauty products. Nanocopper oxide is often used for electronics and technology, but also for antifouling paints, which prevent things like barnacles and mussels from attaching to boats.

“At low levels, both of these nanomaterials are nontoxic,” said co-author Gary Cherr, professor and interim director of the UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory, and an affiliate of the UC Davis Coastal Marine Sciences Institute. “However, for sea urchins in sensitive life stages, they disrupt the main defense mechanism that would otherwise protect them from environmental toxins.”

Science for safe design

Nanomaterials are tiny chemical substances measured in nanometers, which are about 100,000 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. Nano-sized particles can enter the body through the skin, ingestion, or inhalation. They are being rapidly introduced across the fields of electronics, medicine and technology, where they are being used to make energy efficient batteries, clean up oil spills, and fight cancer, among many other uses. However, relatively little is known about nanomaterials with respect to the environment and health.

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

Copper Oxide and Zinc Oxide Nanomaterials Act as Inhibitors of Multidrug Resistance Transport in Sea Urchin Embryos: Their Role as Chemosensitizers by Bing Wu, Cristina Torres-Duarte, Bryan J. Cole, and Gary N. Cherr. Environ. Sci. Technol., 2015, 49 (9), pp 5760–5770 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.5b00345 Publication Date (Web): April 7, 2015

Copyright © 2015 American Chemical Society

This paper is behind a paywall.

While this research into nanoparticles as chemosensitizers is, according to UC Davis, the first of its kind, the concern over nanosunscreens and marine waters has been gaining traction over the last few years. For example, there’s  research featured in a June 10, 2013 article by Roberta Kwok for the University of Washington’s ‘Conservation This Week’ magazine,

Sunscreen offers protection from UV rays, reduces the risk of skin cancer, and even slows down signs of aging. Unfortunately, researchers have found that sunscreen also pollutes the ocean.

Although people have been using these products for decades, “the effect of sunscreens, as a source of introduced chemicals to the coastal marine system, has not yet been addressed,” a research team writes in PLOS ONE. Sunscreens contain chemicals not only for UV protection, but also for coloring, fragrance, and texture. And beaches are becoming ever-more-popular vacation spots; for example, nearly 10 million tourists visited Majorca Island in the Mediterranean Sea in 2010.

Here’s a link to the 2013 PLOS ONE paper,

Sunscreen Products as Emerging Pollutants to Coastal Waters by Antonio Tovar-Sánchez, David Sánchez-Quiles, Gotzon Basterretxea, Juan L. Benedé, Alberto Chisvert, Amparo Salvador, Ignacio Moreno-Garrido, and Julián Blasco. PLOS ONE DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0065451 Published: June 5, 2013

This is an open access journal.