Active substances in antifouling paint released during ship’s hull cleaning using water jet spray

Abstract

Since the ban on the use of organotin-based antifouling paints, many other booster biocides have been emerged to replace organotin-based products. During the maintenance of ships on a dry dock, pressurized jet water is sprayed for clearing off foulants attached on the ship’s hulls. The sprayed water, which was released directly into the adjacent water column, was found to be heavily contaminated with paint particles and active substances released from the particles. Although some booster biocides are known to be easily degraded from the moment of release, they can be a source of hazard to marine organisms through continuous release from the paint particles into the environment. Paint particles accumulated in the bottom sediment also can be a continuous source of biocides and other active substances. This study is to characterize the compounds being released into the seawater through the spraying of pressurized jet water. Samples (jet water effluent, fouling organisms, paint chips, and adjacent seawater) were collected for metal and biocide analyses during ships’ hull cleaning on a dry dock. Metal concentrations were determined using ICP/MS and the distribution of biocides was screened using LC Q-TOFMS. Particle size distribution was also characterized using wet sieving and laser scattering particle size analyzer. The results will give insights of compounds distributions under different particle sizes and their relaoff foulants attached on the ship’s hulls. The sprayed water, which was released directly into the adjacent water column, was found to be heavily contaminated with paint particles and active substances released from the particles. Although some booster biocides are known to be easily degraded from the moment of release, they can be a source of hazard to marine organisms through continuous release from the paint particles into the environment. Paint particles accumulated in the bottom sediment also can be a continuous source of biocides and other active substances. This study is to characterize the compounds being released into the seawater through the spraying of pressurized jet water. Samples (jet water effluent, fouling organisms, paint chips, and adjacent seawater) were collected for metal and biocide analyses during ships’ hull cleaning on a dry dock. Metal concentrations were determined using ICP/MS and the distribution of biocides was screened using LC Q-TOFMS. Particle size distribution was also characterized using wet sieving and laser scattering particle size analyzer. The results will give insights of compounds distributions under different particle sizes and their rela