Sunscreen chemicals can harm marine life

A father sprays his son’s back with sunscreen and releases him into the water at Newcomb Hollow Beach to play. It’s a common scene: an estimated 1.9 million people visit the Cape Cod National Seashore each summer between June and August, and most tourists spend a good deal of their time in local waters. But increasingly, the possible long-term effects of that sunscreen on the marine environment are worrying scientists.

This is the story of the scientists studying this issue, and how some communities are responding.

(Published Aug. 16, 2019 in The Provincetown Independent.)