摘要
Sea Nine 211, with 4,5-dichloro-2-n-octyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one（DCOIT） being the biocidal ingredient, is a widely-used antifouling agent to deter the undesirable biofouling phenomenon. It is commercially promoted as an environmentally acceptable antifoulant mainly due to its claimed rapid degradation in marine environment. However, increasing researches document varying degradative kinetics in different environments, proving that Sea Nine 211 is actually not degraded equally fast around the world（half-life between〈 1 day and 13.1 days）. Large-scale application of Sea Nine 211 in antifouling coatings has also caused global contamination of marine environment in various compartments. For example, accumulation of Sea Nine 211 is detected as high as 3700 ng/L in Spanish seawater and 281 ng/g dry weight in Korean sediment. Considering that Sea Nine 211 is highly toxic against non-target marine organisms, environmental risk assessment finds that most marine organisms are endangered by Sea Nine 211 in worst-case scenario. Its endocrine disrupting and reproductive impairing effects at environmentally worst-case concentrations further constitute a long-term threat to the maintenance of population stability.Therefore, in the light of the varying degradability, environmental pollution and high toxicity, especially the endocrine disruption, Sea Nine 211 as an antifouling agent is likely to cause non-negligible damages to the marine ecosystem. There is an urgency to perform a systematic ecological risk assessment of Sea Nine 211 to prevent the potential impacts on the health of marine environment. A regular monitoring also becomes necessary to place the usage of antifouling biocides under control.
Sea Nine 211, with 4,5-dichloro-2-n-octyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one（DCOIT） being the biocidal ingredient, is a widely-used antifouling agent to deter the undesirable biofouling phenomenon. It is commercially promoted as an environmentally acceptable antifoulant mainly due to its claimed rapid degradation in marine environment. However, increasing researches document varying degradative kinetics in different environments, proving that Sea Nine 211 is actually not degraded equally fast around the world（half-life between〈 1 day and 13.1 days）. Large-scale application of Sea Nine 211 in antifouling coatings has also caused global contamination of marine environment in various compartments. For example, accumulation of Sea Nine 211 is detected as high as 3700 ng/L in Spanish seawater and 281 ng/g dry weight in Korean sediment. Considering that Sea Nine 211 is highly toxic against non-target marine organisms, environmental risk assessment finds that most marine organisms are endangered by Sea Nine 211 in worst-case scenario. Its endocrine disrupting and reproductive impairing effects at environmentally worst-case concentrations further constitute a long-term threat to the maintenance of population stability.Therefore, in the light of the varying degradability, environmental pollution and high toxicity, especially the endocrine disruption, Sea Nine 211 as an antifouling agent is likely to cause non-negligible damages to the marine ecosystem. There is an urgency to perform a systematic ecological risk assessment of Sea Nine 211 to prevent the potential impacts on the health of marine environment. A regular monitoring also becomes necessary to place the usage of antifouling biocides under control.
