A Vancouver Island neighborhood that pulls large crowds as a summer season vacation spot is seeking to ban sure t varieties of sunscreen.
Lake Cowichan does large enterprise in the summertime months, with individuals coming to camp, cool off within the lake that bears its title or float down the Cowichan River.
However the municipal council is elevating issues about an ingredient in some chemical sunscreens that could possibly be dangerous to the river’s ecosystem.
“We have now the second largest freshwater lake on Vancouver Island and in addition the Cowichan River which is one among 44 heritage rivers in Canada which may be very vital culturally, economically and bodily to the native First Nations who dwell inside the space and to the city of Lake Cowichan as effectively,” mentioned Lake Cowichan Mayor Tim McGonigle.
“We see an inflow of most likely 4 instances the inhabitants of Lake Cowichan in the summertime months.”
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The municipality is now contemplating a bylaw that might ban using sunscreen containing the compound Oxybenzone, which may doubtlessly contaminate the aquatic surroundings and bioaccumulate in dwelling organisms.
McGonigle mentioned municipal employees have been instructed to look into whether or not the city may legally ban the sale of non-complying sunscreens.
“We all know that we will’t management what comes into the neighborhood,” he mentioned. “However we will management probably what’s offered inside the municipal boundaries.”
Some native companies have already converted to eco-friendly options, however the neighborhood says it’s going to transfer forward with the ban if employees conclude its a authorized possibility.
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