Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
There are 70 products for copper-free paints, and they comprise 26%ofthe
380 products. In copper-free products, three biocides, TPBP, SN211, and TPN,
are a major component of one-biocide combinations, and the combination of
ZnPT and TPBP occurs in 50 products (71%) as a two-or-more-biocide mixture.
The List includes color information on the products. Most of the red prod-
ucts always contained Cu
2
O, and the products with a nonred color contained
TPBP, ZnPT, and SN211 as major biocides.
2.3
Effectiveness of Antifouling Paints
Interaction effects between biocides are not well known to date. Synergistic
and antagonistic effects of some biocides have been evaluated using nontar-
get test organisms [11]. One combination, consisting of the three biocides
Irgarol, Diuron, and DCF, comprising 30% of the total products containing
Irgarol, was found to enhance toxicity. This combination had synergistic ef-
fects on test species. On the other hand, one product containing Irgarol and
SN211 was registered on the List, although it is reported that this combina-
tion had antagonistic or additive effects [11]. Antifouling paint products are
carefully designed to provide the synergistic effects of biocides at lower con-
centrations. The combination TPBP and Cu
2
O is not included in products,
probably because of its antagonistic effect [5]. It may be assumed that the bio-
cide combinations in the List have been selected because of their synergistic
effects between biocides.
The data analyzed in this paper are based on the information (380 prod-
ucts from ten companies) released by the JPMA in June 2005. The List has
been periodically revised since it was first compiled in 2004; therefore, fu-
ture changes in antifouling systems in Japan can be continually assessed as
the List is revised. Information on the level of production and use of the bio-
cides, along with data on the species and biocide combinations, is expected to
be publicly available in the near future.
3
Conclusions
The data registered by the JPMA that were released in June 2005 were ana-
lyzed to assess the present status of antifouling systems used in Japan. The
following conclusions are drawn from this assessment.
1. The antifouling paint products registered in the Japanese market comprise
380 types manufactured by ten companies.
2. There were 21 nonbiocidal products (5%), and 16 biocides were included
in 95% of the total items.
