PARENT SESSION

3D - Exposure and effects of environmental contaminants in marine organisms
Poster Hall
8:30 AM - Tuesday, 29 April 2003
Chair: Scholz, N.¹, ¹
Co-chair: Karbe, L.², ²

(TUP/184) The toxicity of nontoxic antifouling paints.

Eklund, Britta¹, Karlsson, Jenny¹, Matamoros, Lisa¹, ¹ ITM, The Institute of Applied Environmental Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden

ABSTRACT- Since the first of January 2000 no biocide leaking antifouling paints are allowed for sale in Sweden for use in the Baltic Sea. As a result a number of new paints appeared on the market. The Swedish Maritime Administration investigated during two seasons 2000 and 2001 a large number of new paints, which claimed to be biocide free. For comparison the now forbidden copper and irgarol containing paint Crusier superior was used. This investigation showed two paints to be as effective as Crusier superior and several others were almost as effective. Five of the most effective biocide free antifouling paints were painted on 10 cm ² each and leached separately in 1 L for a 14 day period. The leakage water was tested for their toxicity towards growth inhibition to the red alga Ceramium tenuicorne and to the lethality of the crustacean Nitocra spinipes. Two of the paints (SSC 44, US gloss and MicronEco International) were clearly toxic to both the alga and the crustacean. The toxicity to the growth inhibition of SSC 44 to the alga was similar as the reference paint Crusier superior, i.e. EC50 at 0.2 % leakage water. MicronEco was ten times less toxic with an EC50 of 2 %. The lethality of Nitocra was higher in both non toxic antifouling paints SSC 44 and MicronEco than in the reference paint Crusier superior. The other non biocide based paints showed less toxic responses and one LeFant H2000 (Lotrec) was not toxic at all. Leakage series at 14 days intervals showed that the toxicity of Crusier superior was reduced to half after three months i.e. EC50 of 0.4 %. Our conclusion is that some biocide free antifouling paints do contain substances that leak out in the water which are as harmful to the environment as the old antifouling paints.

Key words: Antifouling, Toxicity, Ceramium, Nitocra