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Emerging risks from ballast water treatment: the run-up to the International Ballast Water Management Convention.
Journal article

Emerging risks from ballast water treatment: the run-up to the International Ballast Water Management Convention.

  • Werschkun B Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Max-Dorn-Str. 8-10, D-10589 Berlin, Germany.
  • Banerji S Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Max-Dorn-Str. 8-10, D-10589 Berlin, Germany.
  • Basurko OC Marine Division, AZTI-Tecnalia, Txatxarramendi ugartea z/g, 48395 Sukarrieta, Spain.
  • David M Dr. Matej David Consult, Korte 13e, SI 6310 Izola, Slovenia.
  • Fuhr F Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), P.O. Box 59, NL-1790 AB Den Burg, The Netherlands.
  • Gollasch S GoConsult, Grosse Brunnenstr. 61, D-22763 Hamburg, Germany.
  • Grummt T Federal Environment Agency (UBA), Bad Elster Branch, Heinrich-Heine-Str. 12, D-08645 Bad Elster, Germany.
  • Haarich M Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute (TI), Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries, Palmaille 9, D-22767 Hamburg, Germany.
  • Jha AN School of Biological Sciences, Plymouth University, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK.
  • Kacan S Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH), Bernhard-Nocht-Str. 78, D-20359 Hamburg, Germany.
  • Kehrer A Federal Environment Agency (UBA), Wörlitzer Platz 1, D-06844 Dessau-Roßlau, Germany.
  • Linders J Pastoor Pieckweg 8, NL-3828 PR Hoogland, The Netherlands.
  • Mesbahi E Faculty of Science, Agriculture and Engineering, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK.
  • Pughiuc D Marine Environment Division, International Maritime Organization (IMO), 4 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7SR, UK.
  • Richardson SD Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of South Carolina, 631 Sumter Street, Columbia, SC 29208, USA.
  • Schwarz-Schulz B Federal Environment Agency (UBA), Wörlitzer Platz 1, D-06844 Dessau-Roßlau, Germany.
  • Shah A Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, P.O. Box 611, CH-8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland.
  • Theobald N Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH), Bernhard-Nocht-Str. 78, D-20359 Hamburg, Germany.
  • von Gunten U Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, P.O. Box 611, CH-8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland; Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
  • Wieck S Federal Environment Agency (UBA), Wörlitzer Platz 1, D-06844 Dessau-Roßlau, Germany.
  • Höfer T Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Max-Dorn-Str. 8-10, D-10589 Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: thomas.hoefer@bfr.bund.de.
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  • 2014-07-23
Published in:
  • Chemosphere. - 2014
Ballast water treatment
Disinfection by-products
Environmental health
Genotoxicity
Marine pollution
Risk assessment
Animals
Disinfection
Environmental Exposure
Humans
Risk Assessment
Ships
Waste Disposal, Fluid
Water Pollutants, Chemical
English Uptake and discharge of ballast water by ocean-going ships contribute to the worldwide spread of aquatic invasive species, with negative impacts on the environment, economies, and public health. The International Ballast Water Management Convention aims at a global answer. The agreed standards for ballast water discharge will require ballast water treatment. Systems based on various physical and/or chemical methods were developed for on-board installation and approved by the International Maritime Organization. Most common are combinations of high-performance filters with oxidizing chemicals or UV radiation. A well-known problem of oxidative water treatment is the formation of disinfection by-products, many of which show genotoxicity, carcinogenicity, or other long-term toxicity. In natural biota, genetic damages can affect reproductive success and ultimately impact biodiversity. The future exposure towards chemicals from ballast water treatment can only be estimated, based on land-based testing of treatment systems, mathematical models, and exposure scenarios. Systematic studies on the chemistry of oxidants in seawater are lacking, as are data about the background levels of disinfection by-products in the oceans and strategies for monitoring future developments. The international approval procedure of ballast water treatment systems compares the estimated exposure levels of individual substances with their experimental toxicity. While well established in many substance regulations, this approach is also criticised for its simplification, which may disregard critical aspects such as multiple exposures and long-term sub-lethal effects. Moreover, a truly holistic sustainability assessment would need to take into account factors beyond chemical hazards, e.g. energy consumption, air pollution or waste generation.
Language
  • English
Open access status
hybrid
Identifiers
Persistent URL
https://sonar.ch/global/documents/209840
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