Inputs of disinfection by-products to the marine environment from various industrial activities: Comparison to natural production.

Oxidative treatment of seawater in coastal and shipboard installations is applied to control biofouling and/or minimize the input of noxious or invasive species into the marine environment. This treatment allows a safe and efficient operation of industrial installations and helps to protect human health from infectious diseases and to maintain the biodiversity in the marine environment. On the downside, the application of chemical oxidants generates undesired organic compounds, so-called disinfection by-products (DBPs), which are discharged into the marine environment. This article provides an overview on sources and quantities of DBP inputs, which could serve as basis for hazard analysis for the marine environment, human health and the atmosphere. During oxidation of marine water, mainly brominated DBPs are generated with bromoform (CHBr3) being the major DBP. CHBr3 has been used as an indicator to compare inputs from different sources. Total global annual volumes of treated seawater inputs resulting from cooling processes of coastal power stations, from desalination plants and from ballast water treatment in ships are estimated to be 470-800 × 109 m3, 46 × 109 m3 and 3.5 × 109 m3, respectively. Overall, the total estimated anthropogenic bromoform production and discharge adds up to 13.5-21.8 × 106 kg/a (kg per year) with contributions of 11.8-20.1 × 106 kg/a from cooling water treatment, 0.89 × 106 kg/a from desalination and 0.86 × 106 kg/a from ballast water treatment. This equals approximately 2-6% of the natural bromoform emissions from marine water, which is estimated to be 385-870 × 106 kg/a.

Thermal tolerance of the invasive oyster Crassostrea gigas: feasibility of heat treatment as an antifouling option.

Pacific oysters, Crassostrea gigas are traditionally considered shellfish of great fishery and aquaculture value. For these reasons they are introduced worldwide. Recently there has been increasing reports about the prevalence of C. gigas as biofouling organism in cooling water systems. In the absence of relevant data on the susceptibility of oysters to commonly employed antifouling techniques such as heat treatment, it was presumed that oysters would be controlled by treatment programmes directed against other major fouling organisms. The present study was carried out to test the above hypothesis, and results showed that C. gigas has an upper temperature tolerance that is much higher than other major marine fouling animals including blue mussel Mytilus edulis. Apparently, temperature regimes presently used in heat treatment of cooling water systems fouled by mussels need to be increased, if C. gigas are to be controlled effectively. Our results also indicate that previous exposure of C. gigas to sublethal high temperatures could make them more resistant to subsequent thermal treatment, an aspect that should be taken into account when heat treatment is used as a fouling control option against oyster fouling.