Hawaii County joins Maui with passage of law banning nonmineral sunscreens

Hawaii County has passed a law banning the sale and distribution of nonmineral sunscreens on Hawaii island, following Maui County, which passed a similar law in 2021.

In July, Hawaii County Council Bill 167, which passed with a 6-2 vote, became law without Mayor Mitch Roth’s signature or veto.

It bans the sales of all chemical sunscreens other than those that are mineral-based — or made of zinc and titanium dioxide — to protect Hawaii’s coral reefs.

The new law will assess fines of up to $1,000 per incident for violations, with revenue going toward a fund supporting mineral sunscreen dispensers at beaches and educational materials.

Maui County’s sunscreen law goes into effect Oct. 1, while Hawaii County’s law goes into effect Dec. 1.

Cindi Punihaole, director of The Kohala Center’s Kaha­luu Bay Education Center on Hawaii island’s west side, advocated for the bill, which was proposed by students at Innovations Public Charter School in Kona.

She said it is a victory for Kahaluu Bay, which was recently named a “Hope Spot” by the international nonprofit Mission Blue, reserved for special places critical to the health of the ocean worth protecting.

Kahaluu Bay, a popular snorkeling spot, is the second Hope Spot in Hawaii, following the selection of Ola­- walu Reef on Maui in 2017.

“It has been years that we have been doing education at Kahaluu Bay,” said Punihaole, “and since end of 2006 we were doing this education to protect the coral reef, creating aloha ambassadors, volunteers and reef teachers so visitors would understand how to take care of the place and how to care for the marine life and corals.”

She added, “For us, looking at sunscreen and the importance of how it plays into one of the stressors — it really is an easy stressor to remove.”

Maui County in November passed Bill 135, introduced by Council member Kelly King, prohibiting the sale, distribution and use of nonmineral sunscreens without a prescription. Maui Mayor Mike Victorino signed the bill into law in December.

On Friday, Maui County issued a news release saying it was working with businesses and suppliers to ensure a smooth transition.

The laws, opposed by dermatological groups and trade associations, are intended to prevent chemicals from harming coral reef and other marine life.

Advocates for the environment say chemical sunscreens are harmful to marine life when they wash off in the water or enter oceans through sewage — or beach shower runoff, according to a recent study.

Experts in support of the bills testified that corals exposed to certain sunscreen chemicals are more vulnerable to disease, more likely to bleach when the water warms and have a higher mortality rate.

Besides oxybenzone and octinoxate, environmentalists are concerned about other UV filters still under evaluation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, including avobenzone and octocrylene, which they say are harmful to both human health and the environment.

But dermatologists such as Dr. Robert Shapiro of Hilo, who specializes in skin cancer, oppose the Hawaii County ban on all nonmineral sunscreens, citing health concerns.

“I am very concerned about how this ban will affect the number of people who may develop skin cancers on Hawaii Island,” said Shapiro in a statement. “As dermatologists, we always encourage our patients to use sunscreen daily, not only at the beach, but when doing anything outside, like running, cycling, yardwork, or playing sports.”

He continued, “With only mineral sunscreens available to Hawaii Island residents, I’m especially concerned that this bill will take away the sunscreens that people use most often, which will cause people to skip sunscreen all together.”

Shapiro said Hawaii already has the highest rate of UV-caused melanoma in the nation and that the ban will likely exacerbate the problem.

Under current state law, which went into effect Jan. 1, the sale and distribution of over-the-counter sunscreens with oxybenzone and octinoxate are prohibited, but not their use. Visitors who bring sunscreens with those UV filters may still use them in the state.

A long-awaited report by the National Academies of Sciences on sunscreen’s impact on the environment and human health is due out Tuesday.