Vancouver Island community looks to ban sale of some sunscreens
Lake Cowichan Town Coun. Aaron Frisby said, in particular, council wants to prevent the sale and use of sunscreens that are not non-nano mineral sunscreen.
According to the B.C. Conservation Foundation, chemicals often found in regular sunscreen that could be harmful to marine ecosystems include oxybenzone, avobenzone, octocrylene, octinoxate, octisalate, enzacamene and nanoparticles.
Non-nano mineral sunscreens are free of nanoparticles and use zinc oxide or titanium dioxide to reflect the sun, the foundation said.
"We're taking baby steps," Frisby told CBC's On The Island host Gregor Craigie. "We realize that people can bring in sunscreens from other areas and use those, but this is the first step to a bigger picture."
A 2023 study by the B.C. Conservation Foundation, which examined river and lake water, sediment, benthic macroinvertebrates, mussels and fish from the Cowichan watershed from 2019 to 2022, found higher concentrations of oxybenzone in areas that are frequented more often for recreation.
A recent review of several studies on the effects sunscreen has on marine life found UV filters in sunscreen can have a "significant" impact on organisms, including inhibiting growth and DNA mutations.
However, the review suggests more research needs to be done to understand the impact of other chemicals, and the effects on more organisms, at different stages of life and in different areas.
"As of now, we don't really know the full extent of what damage it could have on the environment, but it's good to get ahead of it," Frisby said.
Lake Cowichan is not the first jurisdiction to take this type of action: on Jan. 1, 2021, Hawaii banned the sale of sunscreen containing chemicals — like those listed above — that are harmful to its coral reefs.
Frisby, who owns a tube rental company in Lake Cowichan, said his business provides river- and lake-safe sunscreen free for customers. He said the B.C. Conservation Foundation and some other organizations have done the same, as a way to acknowledge that non-nano mineral sunscreens generally cost more.
However, he said, a little goes a long way.
"You don't want to use a lot, otherwise you'll end up looking like a ghost for most of the day."
Frisby doesn't expect a ban would come into effect until 2026, but in the meantime, said council is taking the opportunity to educate businesses and the public about preferred sunscreen products for the river and lake.
He said, so far, he's heard positive feedback from the community.
"The public seems to be on board and also the businesses seem to be on board. So we're moving in the right direction."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
4 hours ago
- CBC
Dieting culture stole years of my life. Then, I unlocked the key to break free
This First Person article is the experience of Natasha Ngindi, who lives in Saskatoon. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ. For most of my life, I believed my body was a problem. I believed that if I could just lose weight, everything would be better. I'd be more confident, I'd be happy and I'd finally feel good enough. So I dieted. I exercised obsessively. I lost weight. And for a moment, I thought I had won. But the truth? Diet culture stole years of my life before I broke free. As a child in South Africa, I grew up surrounded by family, culture and food that felt like love. There was no counting calories, no "good" or "bad" foods. We just ate, and we enjoyed it. I never once thought about calories and I never thought about the size of my body. I moved, played, danced and ate with joy. But when I was eight, my family moved to Canada. That was the moment everything changed. I realized that I didn't fit into Western beauty standards that seemed worlds apart from the beauty standards in South Africa at that point in time. I was the Black girl in a mostly white school in Brampton, Ont., and I became hyper-aware of my size, my skin colour and just how "different" I was. I quickly learned that I was the bigger girl in a society that praised thinness. WATCH | Natasha Ngindi shares her journey to self-acceptance: Saskatoon woman shares her journey from dieting to food freedom 2 days ago After moving from South Africa as a child, Natasha Ngindi felt the pressure to fit in with Canadian beauty standards. She spent years dieting and cycling through weight loss and gain before getting the help she needed to change her relationship with food and embrace her body. Now, she's helping others find food freedom. Diet culture crept into my head, whispering that I wasn't enough. I started feeling insecure and fearing loneliness because I didn't feel I was good enough. I used to love movement — figure skating, dancing and even climbing trees. But as I got older, I felt like spaces for movement weren't made for bodies like mine. So I stopped. Food was something I used to enjoy without guilt. But here in Canada, I learned that thinner meant better. I went on my first diet in high school. It started small — cutting out certain foods here and there and working out more. But then it became an extreme obsession. I was counting calories, tracking everything and skipping meals. I believed that if I could just be smaller, I'd finally be accepted. I even fell for the idea that my worth was tied to my weight. And when I lost 50 pounds, suddenly, people noticed and praised me. They told me I "looked amazing." That I had "glowed up." I thought: "This is it. I've finally made it." I truly believed I was the healthiest I'd ever been. With all the praise, I thought I could help others as well, so I decided to study nutrition science in university, thinking I could teach people how to lose weight just like I did. I thought I was happy. But the truth? I was exhausted. Nobody tells you this, but when your confidence is built on weight loss, it's never enough. The fear of gaining it back consumes you. And like most people, I couldn't keep the weight I lost off, because our bodies are designed to fight against restriction. Despite this fact, I tried harder. More diets. More guilt. More shame. About three years into studying nutrition science at the University of Saskatchewan, I hit my breaking point. That's when I sought professional help and met a dietitian who introduced me to intuitive eating. This self-care approach encourages people to focus on listening to their body's hunger, fullness and satisfaction cues rather than following external diet rules. Learning about intuitive eating changed everything for me. My dietitian helped me realize that I was spending more time thinking about food than actually living my life. I was skipping meals to save calories or punishing myself for eating cake. And for what? I asked myself: "Is this how I want to live forever?" The answer was no. I deleted my diet apps. I stopped labelling food as good or bad, and I let myself eat what I loved. For the first time in years, I listened to my body instead of punishing it. I also rediscovered joyful movement — working out because it felt good, not because I wanted to shrink myself. I started dancing again. I became a Zumba instructor. Slowly but surely, I started to feel free. After spending years studying and working in nutrition science, I knew I wanted to help others. I started sharing my outlook with others through social media, encouraging people to make peace with food, love their bodies and find joy in movement — free from diet culture. I am also trying to inspire others to practice the self-compassion I wish I'd shown myself when I first moved to Canada. I know now that my body is enough, just as it is. And so is yours.
CBC
6 hours ago
- CBC
Think you've got Canada's worst commute? Plus, scooter injuries on the rise: CBC's Marketplace cheat sheet
Miss something this week? Don't panic. CBC's Marketplace rounds up the consumer and health news you need. Want this in your inbox? Get the Marketplace newsletter every Friday. Think you've got Canada's worst commute? Whether you live in St. John's, Victoria or anywhere in between, everyone's got traffic trouble, and we all think we've got it the worst. So we're looking for your traffic tribulations. Email us at marketplace@ and tell us why your commute is the worst. It could be a road that's always under construction, an intersection that's always gummed up or your full commute from start to finish. Be local and as specific as you can — we want to get into the nitty-gritty of the roadways in your life that drive you crazy. Your submission could be crowned Canada's worst commute and could be featured on an upcoming episode of Marketplace. E-scooter injuries on the rise across Canada, data shows Hospitalizations related to injuries from scooters and e-scooters have risen, according to new Canadian data, as emergency physicians warn the two-wheeled vehicles aren't toys. The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) said Thursday that nearly 1,000 people were hospitalized for scooter-related injuries during the 12-month period starting April 1, 2023. That's up from 810 during the same period of 2022-23. Half of the injuries — 498 — were related to motorized e-scooters, an increase of 32 per cent over the 375 hospitalizations recorded in 2022-23. "Some unintentional injuries are really predictable and preventable, particularly in relation to e-scooter injuries," said Tanya Khan, CIHI's manager of hospital data advancement and engagement in Montreal. Emergency physicians say the extent of injuries can be severe: brain, facial and dental trauma, fractures needing multiple surgeries, or traumatic brain injuries that require intensive care. Some injuries happen when the rider is hit by a car, but physicians are also treating people who have been hit by a rider. Back in 2020, Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) saw a single e-scooter injury. By 2024, that number had jumped to 46. Read more from CBC's Amina Zafar. Selling items on Facebook Marketplace? Watch out for this scam 4 days ago Montreal sellers on Facebook Marketplace say they're adjusting to a new type of scam from deceptive buyers trying to seize their bank account through fake e-transfers. Violaine Pelletier-Madsen, who sells her personal items on the popular platform, says she almost fell victim when she tried selling something to an individual who wanted her to put the product on hold. He offered to pay a deposit. "I didn't look online to go see their profile," she said. "So I just took it for granted that this conversation goes well and I accepted the Interac transfer." She clicked what looked like an e-transfer link but clicked out when it wasn't directing her to her official bank page or banking app. It's a scenario cybersecurity expert Claudiu Popa says he sees often. The scam, also known as reverse fraud, involves the scammer sending a link disguised with official-looking branding and asking the seller to input their banking information to claim the payment. Once the victim does so, the scammer gets access to their account and sends themselves an e-transfer. Popa says if the buyer expresses a sense of urgency, it should immediately set off alarm bells. "You can put anything you want in that link. If you tell a person you're waiting for them, the vendor's going to click," he said. The Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) says the scam seems to be relatively new in Montreal. In an email, the SPVM says seven cases of reverse fraud were reported between January and April 1, 2025, adding that no reports were recorded in previous years. Read more. Want a big piece of Mars? It could have been yours — for $4M US Sotheby's in New York auctioned a 25-kilogram rock known as NWA 16788 on Wednesday as part of a natural history-themed sale. It sold for nearly $6 million. It's the largest piece of Mars ever found on Earth. According to the auction house, the meteorite is believed to have been blown off the surface of Mars by a massive asteroid strike before travelling 225 million kilometres to Earth, where it crashed into the Sahara. A meteorite hunter found it in Niger in November 2023, Sotheby's says. The red, brown and grey hunk is about 70 per cent larger than the next largest piece of Mars found on Earth and represents nearly seven per cent of all the Martian material currently on this planet, Sotheby's says. It measures about 375 millimetres by 279 millimetres by 152 millimetres. "This Martian meteorite is the largest piece of Mars we have ever found by a long shot," Cassandra Hatton, vice-chair for science and natural history at Sotheby's, said in an interview. It is also a rare find. There are only 400 Martian meteorites out of the more than 77,000 officially recognized meteorites found on Earth, Sotheby's says. Read more. What else is going on? Couche-Tard made 1st offer in August 2024. Experts say the TikTok trend is a worthwhile exercise but warn not to get hung up on the details. Marketplace needs your help! Have you bought a new car recently? Did you have to pay more than the price in the ad or pay for features you didn't want? If you've experienced any car sale fails, we want to hear from you at marketplace@
CBC
2 days ago
- CBC
Holiday Beach still closed due to E.coli, more warnings issued for other beaches
Social Sharing Holiday Beach remains closed due to high levels of in the water, after new testing by the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit on Wednesday. The health unit has also posted new warnings advising people not to swim at Cedar Island Beach and Seacliff Beach. Warnings put in place July 9 at Cedar Beach and Colchester Beach remain in place after the latest round of testing. levels at Holiday Beach were once again 1,000 coliform units per 100 millilitres, according to the health unit's website. Measurements at the other four beaches were: Seacliff - 463 Cedar Island - 382 Cedar - 364 Colchester - 296 Water is considered unsafe for swimming if levels exceed 200 coliform units per 100 milliliters, a spokesperson for the health unit told CBC in an email. Beaches are closed if levels reach 1,000.
