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Hull Scrapings and Marine Coatings as a Source of Microplastics 4. Next Steps 4.1 Data gaps Efforts have been made here to identify research and review reports regarding the release of microplastics from anti-fouling paints, other hull paints and marine coatings through normal wear, or when cleaned, maintained or abraded. As is widely recognised, there is considerable research over many years of the toxicities of anti-fouling types and loss of this and biofouling from ship hulls, particularly when being cleaned in water. It is only very recently that attention has focused on microplastics in marine systems and, in the case of this study, on the implications of maintenance to AFS and other marine coatings through in-water cleaning and shipyard / marina services. However, apart from minimal comments in researched literature that the loss of plastics from AFS may be an issue (e.g. Lassen et al., 2015; Boucher and Friot, 2017; Eunomia, 2018), direct research on this possibility was not readily apparent. This review, as well as personal communications with an expert in this field, did not readily reveal any research directly investigating microplastics from anti-fouling systems and/or marine coatings, though this may be available, but as yet unpublished or accessible. This relative lack of information has led to data gaps which may benefit from research to inform future policy and management of microplastics from AFS and ship coatings, including: ● Whether there is presence of microplastics in the ocean, through activities such as hull cleaning, replacement of hull coatings, and the normal wear of anti-fouling hull coatings; ● If identified as a source, clarify, where feasible, the relative contribution of microplastics to ocean systems against other sources such as terrestrial runoff, etc.; ● A clear identification of the behaviour of differing plastics from AFS / marine coatings demonstrating: O Wear rates of the differing polymers (e.g. see Schiff, Diehl and Valkirs, (2004)) in amount released per surface area (e.g. per m2), from normal abrasion and cleaning (onshore and in-water) and differing cleaning / grooming methods (e.g. see Oliveira and Granhag, 2016); O Size of marine paint plastics released and the related ecological / food pathway risk from these; O Whether plastics released from AFS through natural wear or in-water cleaning can readily adsorb biocides and/or metals from AFS / hull coating paints and organic / inorganic pollutants in the water column; O The ability for differing AFS / marine paint plastic types to sorb already extant contaminants (organic / heavy metal, etc.) and related risk, through possible differing internal desorption, etc., to benthic / pelagic species through bioaccumulation; O Fate of microplastics, i.e. partitioning of the differing plastic types between the sea surface micro layer and possible deposition in sediment / benthic habitats and the related contaminant levels which may overcome plastic type buoyancy leading to deposition; ● The efficacy of in-water cleaning systems and their ability to collect microplastics (as and if significantly released from ROV or diver cleaning) at sizes important for intentional or unintentional uptake by marine species; 14PDF Image | HULL SCRAPINGS AND MARINE COATINGS AS A SOURCE OF MICROPLASTICS
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