How do I know if my sunscreen is safe for reefs? by Civil Beat published on 2019-10-05T02:17:44Z Emily Silva teaches swimming, snorkeling and kayaking in Maui so she’s outside all day every day. While an effective sunscreen is vital to her health, her livelihood depends on the health of reefs around Maui. She asked Civil Beat how she can tell if a sunscreen will hurt marine life or not, and we dug into the research, analyzed our own bad purchases and met some women leading the charge to educate Hawaii — and the world — about reef preservation. Genre Science