WORLD BAN ON TOXIC SHIP PAINT HAILED AS VICTORY FOR MARINE ENVIRONMENT

5 October 2001

London: Greenpeace welcomed a new global treaty to ban the use of toxic organotins in ship paints by January 2003, to be adopted by world governments this afternoon at the U.N. International Maritime Organisation (IMO) diplomatic conference in London. (1)

The chemicals, TBT (tributyltin) and other organotins, have been added to ship paints since the 1970s because their toxicity prevents algae and other marine organisms from attaching themselves to vessels' hulls but they leach from the paint and are severely damaging the global marine environment.

"It's taken years of hard discussions to arrive at this commitment but today's treaty is a positive step in the right direction. It sends a clear signal to the shipping, paint and chemical industries that their days of abusing the marine environment are finally over and they must stop producing and using toxic paints," said Greenpeace toxics campaigner, Martin Besieux, speaking from the IMO meeting.

Under the treaty, it will no longer be allowed to paint ships with anti-fouling paints that contain organotins from 1st January 2003 and, by 2008, organotin paint will have to be removed or securely sealed on all vessels. Importantly, the treaty is based on the 'precautionary principle'. This means that other chemicals used as anti-fouling agents in ship paints in the future can also be banned under the new anti-fouling convention if they are found to be toxic to the marine environment. Such a ban can be instigated if there is sufficient reason to suspect the pollutant may threaten the environment, even if there is not scientific certainty. The IMO also urged the paint and chemical industries today "to refrain from the marketing, sale and application" of organotin paints (2).

Research has found TBT and other organotins to be responsible for the disruption of the endocrine system of marine shellfish leading to the development of male sex characteristics in female marine snails. TBT has also been found to impair the immune system of some organisms. Once in the marine environment, TBT can travel far from the source of contamination and has been found in the tissues of cetaceans, seals, sea otters and water birds around the world.

"Today's decision is a victory for the marine environment that is being severely damaged by toxic ship paints," said Besieux. "It illustrates a growing awareness that there's no place for hazardous products in today's world, " he added.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Martin Besieux, Greenpeace toxics campaigner at the IMO meeting on + 32 4 961 61585
Matilda Bradshaw, Greenpeace International press desk on + 31 6 535 04701

(1) The treaty is called 'The International Convention on the Control of Harmful Anti-fouling Systems on Ships'

(2) IMO resolution number one, adopted at the diplomatic conference today. Greenpeace has been campaigning for a ban on TBT and other organotins for many years. In 1999, the environmental organisation sampled sediment in many harbours of the world and found that, in some areas, concentrations of TBT in mud can be up to a hundred thousand times above background levels.

Greenpeace activists have been taking direct action over the past week to stop the chemical and paint industries manufacturing and using TBT and organotins in ship paints. Yesterday, Greenpeace occupied the 'Atofina' paint company's plant in the Netherlands and returned barrels of TBT contaminated mud to the company that it had dredged from several of the world's polluted harbours. Images of these actions are available on request.