The leaching behaviors of copper and tributyltin (TBT) from self-polishing type antifouling paint films into seawater have been studied by means of atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) and gas chromatography equipped with an electron-capture detector (ECD-GC). The leaching rates (L. R. : μg/cm
2/day) of copper and TBT were measured after various durations of soaking in the artificial seawater as follows : FRP panels (7. 5 × 15 cm) were painted on both side (painted area : 140 cm
2). Clean seawater (pH : 8. 0-8. 2) obtained at Hiroshima Bay was used as the leaching solutions. The leaching bath was stirred by a stream of air bubbles (about 200 m
l/min) and, leaching time and temperature were set for two hours and at 20°C, respectively. As the results, the leaching rates of copper and TBT from antifouling paints at steady state were obtained to be 15-25 μg/cm
2/day and 1-2μg/cm
2/day, respectively.
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