TBT powder

It is available from laboratory chemical suppliers as you might expect.

But it is considered to be a severe marine pollutant and its use is banned worldwide by the IMO.
 
VicS said:
But it is considered to be a severe marine pollutant and its use is banned worldwide by the IMO.
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Though still available at yacht chandlers in some Caribbean countries as Sea Hawk Biotin Antifouling.

That distinctive smell on local yachts in Trinidad was a trip down memory lane, to the happy days of yore when we'd come home from antifouling the boat with burning blisters all over our hands.
 
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not in some nappies ?

apparently some babies nappies see fit to make a note that tbt is not in their babies nappies


"Chlorine-free absorbent materials - does not contribute to dioxin pollution
100 % natural based back sheet - NO plastic - reduce the greenhouse effect
100 % natural distribution layer - NO plastic - reduce the greenhouse effect
No latex, fragrance, or TBT (tributyl tin) "


http://www.ubershop.co.uk/nappies/p...care Nappies - 5 Junior - Value Pack (3 X 28)

Which appears to mean that some babies nappies must use it
 
Hence, a huge diaper around my yachts bottom should keep fouling away. I wonder how often it would have to be changed.
 
dylanwinter said:
you can still buy it

blimey

D
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Yes - as a laboratory chemical. If you look at the page, you will see that it has uses in synthesizing other things. You can buy all sorts of things as lab chemicals that are illegal for use in the general environment - CFCs come to mind, but more obviously, a lot of straightforward poisons like arsenic or even lead - it's illegal to put lead in paint!

You can't buy TBT anti-fouling any more, and its use as antifouling is subject to a world-wide ban. Even if you bought the product on the page linked to, you would be breaking the law if you mixed it into anti-fouling paint and applied it to your yacht. I daresay its use in the Caribbean as another poster reports is because of lax enforcement there, and the use of old stock - it was only banned for commercial shipping fairly recently. It has been illegal for pleasure craft for a long time, though I remember using it when I was a teenager - 40 odd years ago!

You can often legally buy stuff you can't legally use. You can legally buy a lot of radio equipment that you can't legally use - if usually requires a license, but OfCOM won't issue licenses for some kinds of kit to the public. A prime example was the old 27MHz CB kit imported from the USA - it wasn't illegal to own the kit, it wasn't illegal to have it mounted in your car - but it was illegal to transmit. And Radio-control modellers had good reason to report use of unlicensed 27Mhz kit, as it was reserved for R/C and use of CB kit could result in an expensive R/C model being wrecked. I recall it being the subject of a lot of angst in magazines like Practical Electronics!
 
TQA said:
Err Tin powered AF quite legal here in Trinidad and some bits of the Caribbean.

CLICKY Jolly good stuff and available in hard and soft formulations.

Also available is tin booster http://www.seahawkpaints.com/Our-Products/Product/Tin-Booster.aspx

They say they will export it [ but not to the USA ] .
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Sorry - it has been internationally illegal since 2008: see THIS. I haven't checked in detail the ratification status in various states, but my understanding is that once it was ratified by sufficient countries (in 2008), it became international law even if not reflected in national legislation, except in cases where nations specifically objected to it.

The ban is for a good reason; it affects marine life far beyond what grows on your hull. I'd have thought that Caribbean nations would have very good reason for upholding this ban, as TBT can decimate fisheries, coral reefs etc., all of which make a big contribution to their economies.
 
nigelmercier said:
Of course, but it's on my "list" of words that are often misused, especially in the media. Others include "invariably" and "less".
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From the Oxford American Dictionary
decimate |ˈdesəˌmāt|
verb [ with obj. ]
1 kill, destroy, or remove a large percentage or part of: the project would decimate the fragile wetland wilderness | the American chestnut, a species decimated by blight.
• drastically reduce the strength or effectiveness of (something): plant viruses that can decimate yields.
2 historical kill one in every ten of (a group of soldiers or others) as a punishment for the whole group.

Don't be such an old fart. :)
 
BlowingOldBoots said:
From the Oxford American Dictionary
decimate |ˈdesəˌmāt|
verb [ with obj. ]
1 kill, destroy, or remove a large percentage or part of: the project would decimate the fragile wetland wilderness | the American chestnut, a species decimated by blight.
• drastically reduce the strength or effectiveness of (something): plant viruses that can decimate yields.
2 historical kill one in every ten of (a group of soldiers or others) as a punishment for the whole group.

Don't be such an old fart. :)
Click to expand...

But we speak English English here, and in that decimate means reduce by one tenth. You'll be wanting us to say aloominum and nookular next.
 
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