Investigations concerning the sustainability of remediation by land deposition of tributyltin contaminated harbour sediments

Abstract

Sediments often contain high concentrations of tributyltin, which is used as a biocide in antifouling paints. The aim of our project was to assess land deposition as an alternative in dealing with TBT-contaminated harbour sediments. Therefore, we followed the biological degradation of TBT under aerobic and anaerobic conditions at different temperatures using defined laboratory experiments and performing field measurements. With the data obtained, a risk assessment is performed. The biological degradation of TBT is faster under aerobic conditions and with increasing temperature. The half-lives found show the dependency of the degradation rates on the temperature between 5 to 55°C The degradation rate determined for water under the same conditions (just biological degradation, without photolysis) is almost 4 times higher than in the sediment. The field studies gave a degradation rate of around 10% per year in untreated sediment and 30% per year in restacked sediments. We did not observe any interference of released TBT with ground water or surrounding areas. The TBT uptake in plants was low. Based on our results, a multidimensional risk evaluation was done, concerning the TBT and its degradation products dibutyl tin (DBT) and rnonobutyl tin (MBT) released from the deposition area. The land deposition appears to be a sustainable solution for dealing with TBT-contaminated harbour sediments. Compared to other disposals, it is economically one of the cheapest and, from an ecological point of view, it is acceptable.