Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Journal of Coatings Technology and Research, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
Antifouling paints (AFPs) are widely applied to ship hulls, docks, and offshore structures to prevent biofouling in aquatic environments. These coatings typically contain harmful biocides for aquatic ecosystems. Biocide release rates from AFPs affect performance, cost, and marine ecosystem health, making them crucial in environmental risk assessments by regulatory agencies. In this paper, the RCR of tralopyril and its degradation product BCCPCA from model and commercial rosin-based self-polishing AFPs are reported for the Mediterranean Sea. Over a 45-day period, the release of tralopyril and BCCPCA increased gradually and reached equilibrium. On day 45, the cumulative release rates were 16.15 µg/cm2/day for 4% tralopyril, 45.54 µg/cm2/day for 10% tralopyril, and 35.58 µg/cm2/day for a commercial AFP including 5% tralopyril. While RCR values remained below 1 in surrounding marina waters, the values exceeding RCR > 1 were observed within the marina for all samples, except for the degraded paint sample containing 4% tralopyril. These findings underline the necessity of comprehensive environmental risk assessments of AFPs prior to their commercialization to mitigate the ecological pressures posed by biocidal agents on marine environments, and also, there is a great need for development of eco-friendly AFPs.