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New ballast water treatment system at Dal
Shipping accounts for more than 80 per cent of the world’s commodities transportation, with port cities like Halifax playing critical roles in global trade. To help stay buoyant and balance their cargo, container ships gather and dump ballast water as they travel, bringing seawater from around the world into their hulls and dumping it as needed.The problem is that ballast water is not just water. It often contains species: various bacteria, phytoplankton and other microorganisms. And this unexpected cargo is dropped off in harbors halfway around the world, where species never meant for a certain climate can quickly cause rapid damage to marine ecosystems.
Little wonder that the United Nations International Maritime Organization, has declared invasive marine species as one of the four greatest threats to the world’s oceans. And the impacts of invasive species are most often irreversible, unlike other forms of marine pollution where ameliorative action can be taken to encourage recovery.
Dalhousie is doing its part to help. A new ballast water facility within the Aquatron Laboratory is now up and running, with Trojan Technologies as its first user. The international water treatment corporation, headquartered in London, Ont., is using the facility to test products that treat ballast water, in line with new international regulations requiring every ship using ballast water to have approved systems that prevent the spread of invasive species.
“We’re very pleased to be the first users of this facility,” said Trojan President and CEO Marvin DeVries at a walkthrough this Thursday. ”It creates tremendous flexibility in terms of the water that can be tested, and the large flows. That’s critically important not only to us, but to the regulators who need to have an independent verification.”
Balance of Post found at:
http://www.dal.ca/news/2012/06/22/aquatron-expands-facilities-to-help-stop-the-spread-of-invasive-.html
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