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Ballast Water Invaders Hide in Sediments

16 January 2006

Shipping has always been an important form of transportation for man, raw materials, goods -- and invasive species. Ships' ballast tanks help to stabilize the craft, but also carry aquatic organisms to new ecosystems, invading and threatening those ecosystems.

Best-management practices still result in residual water and sediment in the tanks that contain invasive species in their resting stages. Further treatment is needed to completely kill these organisms.

To rid ballast water of this threat, researchers have tested an "ideal" chemical biocide, one that is toxic to target organisms, safe to handle, and able to rapidly degrade in the environment. The biocide, SeaKleen®, killed target organisms and degraded quickly in sunlight, but its toxicity to organisms in sediments was reduced 20-fold.

If residual sediment remains in ballast tanks, invasive species will continue to pose a threat despite chemical treatment. Researchers said they have serious doubts about the potential of SeaKleen or any other chemical biocide to eliminate these organisms in their resting stages.

To read the entire study, click here: http://www.allenpress.com/pdf/entc_b25_02.552-559.pdf.

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry is a monthly journal of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC). For more information about the Society, visit www.setac.org. For more information about Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, visit http://setac.allenpress.com.

[Sensitivity of Aquatic Invertebrate Resting Eggs to SeaKleen® (menadoine): A Test of Potential Ballast Tank Treatment Options; Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry], 2006; Vol. 25(2):552-559

Contact:
April M. Phillips
T 850 469 1500 x 28
aprilp@setac.org