Evaluation of the ecotoxicity and biological efficacy of ship's ballast water treatment based on hydroxyl radicals technique.

Ballast water has been identified as one of the key pathways for the movement of species between different ecosystems. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the biological efficacy and the potential toxicological impact of a proposed ballast water treatment using hydroxyl radicals as the main active substances. Living biomass of organisms kept in treated water for 2 days met the requirement stated in the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Ballast Water Convention (Regulation D-2), and no re-growth was observed over a period of 5 days. Aquatic toxicity tests of three trophic levels for the treated ballast water were performed. The results indicated that the toxicological risk of the discharge water to the receiving environment was not significant.