Study: Boat Paint Ruined Wildlife Habitat

British scientists have determined an environmental catastrophe that desolated one of Britain’s most important wildlife habitats was caused by boat paint.

University College London researchers determined the introduction of the compound tributyltin, or TBT, as a biocide in boat paint during the 1960s resulted in the dramatic loss of aquatic vegetation in most of the approximately 50 Norfolk Broads lakes.

The scientists, in collaboration with researchers at Canada’s Acroloxus Wetlands Consultancy, found that although the use of TBT was banned in the United Kingdom’s freshwater systems in 1987, that ecosystem remains shattered despite expensive attempts to restore it.

Real concerns have been raised about TBT derived from industrial and ship breaking activities in several major river systems, including the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Yangtze — all of which are connected to shallow lakes, said Carl Sayer, of the UCL Environmental Change Research Center, who co-led the study.

TBT was originally designed for use on large ocean-going ships to reduce barnacle build-ups. But subsequent marketing efforts led to its use on much smaller watercraft.

The study appears in the current issue of the journal Environmental Science & Technology.