Publication Abstract

Bioaccumulation of the antifouling paint booster biocide Irgarol 1051 by the green algae Tetraselmis suecica

R.A. Dyer, L.E. Tolhurst, M. Hilton and K.V. Thomas

Following a ban on the use of tributyltin based antifouling paints during the 1980s on vessels less than 25 m in length, alternative booster biocides were added to improve the efficacy of copper based paints). The developed paints have been, and are, extensively used on small boats that frequent marinas and other areas of low water exchange. Under these conditions, Irgarol 1051 and diuron were found to be present at elevated concentrations; a direct result of the compounds' environmental persistence in surface waters and sediments. Following an assessment of the risk posed by antifouling paint biocides (European Commission's Biocidal Products Directive (98/8/EC)), the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) restricted the use of both Irgarol 1051 and diuron in antifouling paints. However, although the use of Irgarol 1051 is restricted in the UK, Denmark and Sweden, following the reports of damage to microalgal communities in coastal waters, it is still used on vessels in other regions of Europe as well as the United States of America.

Reference

R.A. Dyer, L.E. Tolhurst, M. Hilton and K.V. Thomas (2006) Bioaccumulation of the antifouling paint booster biocide Irgarol 1051 by the green algae Tetraselmis suecica. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 77(4): 524-532