Efficacy testing of antifouling paints

Research Project, 2020 – 2021

The risk assessment of antifouling (AF) paints differs between EU member states which has resulted in that high leaching paints are allowed in some countries but prohibited in others. Therefore, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has just recently launched a new strategy to harmonize the risk assessment between EU member states. The aim of the current project is to

·       determine the minimum leaching rate of copper from AF paints to effectively prevent fouling in the Baltic Sea and North Sea

·       evaluate the fouling pressure in different Baltic Sea and North Sea regions.

The results will be used by the Swedish Chemicals Agency (KemI) and ECHA in their work to harmonize the authorization process of AF products.

The project is funded by KemI and is a collaborative project between Chalmers (Erik Ytreberg and Maria Lagerström) and IVL Swedish Environmental Institute (Anna-Lisa Wran