Final Report Summary - TBTIMPACTS (Assessing impacts of TBT on multiple coastal uses) Antifouling paints are applied on hulls of ships and boats to control growth of fouling organisms and to reduce their deleterious effects. Tributyltin (TBT) paints replaced copper-based products because of their superior performance in terms of efficacy and duration. However, this compound was characterised as the most toxic substance ever to be introduced in the marine environment. The TBTIMPACTS project aimed to: 1. study the implications of TBT pollution and its ban; 2. compare costs and benefits of TBT-based antifoulants and other technologies; 3. suggest alternative antifouling strategies; 4. develop tools, such as indicators, quality control programmes and policies, for monitoring and managing the environmental impacts of organotin compounds; 6. raise awareness towards this direction. The project developed a complete biomonitoring system to regulate TBT impacts in coastal environments. The workload was structured in six distinct, yet interrelated, work packages (WPs) which undertook various activities, including policy review, definition of TBT environmental impacts, development of alternative strategies, cost benefit analysis and scenario building, development of decision support tools, awareness raising and dissemination activities. The project focused on both the European Union and the Indian peninsula, and numerous deliverables summarising the research outcomes in both cases were produced. These findings were subsequently disseminated to the scientific community and the general public through a series of workshops, websites, newsletters, research papers, and the publication of a book. Related documents Final Report - TBTIMPACTS (Assessing impacts of TBT on multiple coastal uses)
