1. 1 Evaluation of quick, inexpensive, and reliable methods for determining if ballast water discharges meet proposed toxicity standards Noah S. Adams 1, Scott S. Smith 2, Bryan Bjorndal 3, Randall Marshall 4, Allen Pleus 5, Rian Hooff 6, Gary Gertsen 5 and Keith Strieck 5. 1 Primary Author (and contact) United States Geological Survey, Email: nadams@usgs.gov, 2 USGS- Western Fisheries Research Center, 3 Assure Control, 4 Oregon State Department of Ecology, 5 Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, 6 Oregon State Department of Environmental Quality Presented at the Pacific Ballast Work Group, Portland Oregon, April 16, 2014

2. 2 Presentation Outline Background - Previous research that lead to this project Current Project “100 ships initiative” - Goals - Develop sampling protocols - Gather baseline data Preliminary Results - 6 countries of origin - 14 vessels

3. 3 Background Development of a simple, inexpensive, and rapid ballast water treatment system (2009) Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) Nozzle Mixing Methods Patents in process

4. 4 Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) Free and protected exchange of information to refine existing ideas or develop new ideas Private Sector U.S. Government Accelerate the development and commercialization of ideas that could benefit society Unbiased evaluation

5. 5 Nozzle mixing was successful (1-3 hours) …but, what about water quality and how do we quantify success?? What is water quality before treatment? -Is the proper chemistry present for effective treatment? What is water quality after treatment? -Is the biocide neutralized before discharge. In short, chemical toxins may be present (either prior to or because of the treatment) that could cause the ballast to be noncompliant with discharge standards. Chlorine Mercury

6. 6 Very little is known about water quality in ballast tanks, partly because current testing methods are expensive and time consuming

7. 7 Search for a simple, inexpensive, and rapid field test to evaluate ballast water quality Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) Based on a Biosensor

8. 8 Biosensor = Bioluminescence Plankton

9. 9 Biosensor in clean water % of light Tank #1Tank #2Tank #3Tank #4Tank #5

10. 10 Chlorine Lead Cadmium Mercury Epoxy Resin Biosensors can be a good way to measure overall ballast water quality…….. ……and determine if water chemistry is compliant with IMO and other regulatory standards

11. 11 “100 ships initiative” - Develop sampling protocols - Gather baseline data

12. 12 How to sample the water - Water sampling devises - Depth in tank to take sample Other variable to measure when sample is taken - Temperature - Salinity - pH - Dissolved Oxygen - Others? Protocol Development

13. 13 Protocol Development Pre - FilteringHolding Temperature Holding Time Grazers?

14. 14 Protocol development testing results 14 sample representing 6 countries of origin Number above bar is days water was in tank Conduct further analysis

15. 15 Protocol development testing results

16. 16 Protocol development testing results

17. 17 Summary -The QwikLite shows promise as a simple, inexpensive, and rapid way to test ballast water. -Protocol development is complete. -Currently have about 70 of the targeted 100 samples. -Results will be published.

18. Future Directions -Our hope is that others will conduct similar sampling to expand global knowledge of ballast water quality. -This system appears to be an way to quickly and inexpensively evaluate ballast treatment systems. -What about biological testing? Chlorine Epoxy Resin ?

19. 19 Questions? Acknowledgements Rian Hooff Allen Pleus Gary Gertsen Keith Strieck Bryan Bjorndal