Toxicity evaluation of ballast water discharged at The Onne Port complex using the microtox assay

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-85
Author(s):  
A.S. Ojesanmi ◽  
E.I. Ohimain ◽  
I.R. Inyang

Ballast water from ninety-six (96) International vessels calling the Onne Port complex were analyzed for physicochemical and acute toxicity test using the bioluminescence bacteria (Vibrio fisheri) from October 2015 to September 2016. The result of the microtox assay showed that the ballast water were generally toxic in the months under review. The Tanker vessels were generally more toxic than the RoRo/Container carriers. For the RoRo/Container carriers, the EC50 values for the 5 minutes and 15 minutes microtox assay ranged from 7.99± 2.45% in November, 2015 to 44.04±1.70% in June 2016 and 8.97±1.07% in November 2015 to 44.98±11.13% in June 2016. Similarly, for the tanker vessels, the EC50 values ranged from 5.63±1.97% in June 2016 to 28.17±1.71% in January 2016. In comparison to the reference chemical (Zinc sulphate) for the 5 minutes and 15 minutes microtox assay test, the EC50 values ranged from 1.00 ± 0.24% to 3.49±0.61% and 2.03±1.15% to 5.16±2.99% respectively. The seawater which served as controls were generally not toxic as the EC50 values was 100% from October 2015 to September 2016. The discharge of these ballast water poses a major environmental threat to the water quality and Port infrastructures at the Onne Port complex as contaminants may find their way into the food chain/food web and bioaccumulate in the tissues of indigenous biota (microorganisms, crabs, mangrove oysters and fin-fishes). This research work flags off the need for the regulators of Maritime Safety and Administration in Nigeria to monitor closely International vessels calling at major ports in Nigeria and the need to begin to domesticate some of the IMO guidelines on Ballast water management and ensure strict compliance.Key words: Ballast water, Toxicity, Vibrio fischeri, International Maritime Organization

Author(s):  
Xueqian Zhou ◽  
Hexing Song ◽  
Chenfeng Li ◽  
Huilong Ren ◽  
Siyu Wang

The minimal ballast water crude oil tanker has the design of a trapezoidal-shape inclined bilge entirely instead of the regular U-shaped tanker, also known as the trapezoidal tanker, which reduces the amount of the ballast water. This type of ship does not only reduce the cost on ballast water management, but also is beneficial to the environment for reducing the risk of water pollution. Since it is a new design, there are no applicable specifications for the assessment of structural strength at present. In order to find out characteristics of the yielding and buckling strength of this type of ship, the strength of a conventional tanker and a trapezoidal tanker are calculated by a finite element method and then compared with a variety of cases. It can be seen that the trapezoidal tanker has lots of advantages in strength and lighting weight.


2004 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 273-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Slomczynska ◽  
J. Wasowski ◽  
T. Slomczynski

The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) (oxidation ozone and peroxide/ozone) on the toxicity of leachates from municipal landfill for Warsaw, Poland, using a battery of tests. AOPs used to pre-treat leachates were carried out in laboratory conditions after their coagulation with the use of FeCl3. The effects of the pre-treatment of leachates using the method of coagulation with FeCl3 depended on the concentration of organic compounds and with optimal conditions of the process ranged from 40 to 70%. Further pre-treatment of the leachates after coagulation, involving the use of oxidation with O3 and H2O2/O3, did not cause significant decrease of leachate toxicity. The data of this study demonstrated the usefulness of the battery of tests using Daphnia magna, Artemia franciscana, Scenedesmus quadricauda and Vibrio fischeri for the toxicity evaluation of raw and pre-treated leachates.


2018 ◽  
Vol 182 ◽  
pp. 02004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcin Bielski ◽  
Jacek Wachowicz ◽  
Ryszard Bielski ◽  
Arkadiusz Adamczyk ◽  
Hendra Jantanata

Diagnostics in ballast water management is the main remedy to protect against the threat of spreading invasive species that can be carried in ships' ballast tanks. This phenomenon is getting better known and understood. New and more effective methods of preventing threats related to this are being developed. Procedures are created to ensure environmental safety in the face of ever-increasing transport by sea. The article characterizes both the background of the problem, basic diagnostic medics used in ballast water management, as well as procedures and basic techniques used to ensure the safety of the natural environment..


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seungshic Yum ◽  
Bong Gil Hyun ◽  
Kitae Rhie ◽  
Kyoungsoon Shin

Rapid and simple analytical methods for viable microorganism detection in ballast water are required to evaluate the efficiency of ballast water treatment system. During the course of systematic investigation of the cytotoxicity and apoptosis assays, it was found that the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and luminescence based cell viability assay, in other word, an ATP assay was the most sensitive and applicable to ballast water management (BWM). The assay was applied to cultured microalgae samples, and it could detect the existence of 5 viable cells in 100 μl. Comparably low luminescent values were detected in two cultured diatom species than in cultured dinoflagellates. This result might be caused by the small cell volume in diatom species. Following a regression model between ATP concentration and cell volume, an ATP guideline (876 – 109246 relative luminescence units: RLU) was developed for the evaluation of treated ballast water. ATP assay was also applied to the evaluation of ballast water treatment system (BWTS). The luminescence value which obtained from the ATP assay also showed a good correlation with the presence of living natural plankton cells with comparably low luminescence values than the cultured species. The low ATP concentration in natural plankton cells may reflect a decline in their biological activity because of extended exposure to dark conditions. ATP assay could be a suitable method for the monitoring of ballast water management compliance even though the results of this study need further validation.


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