Organotins and water quality—Some lessons to be learned

Antifouling paints incorporating an organotin compound as a biocide were developed in 1961 and have been used in significant quantities in Britain since 1971. Research in France and Britain suggested a link between organotin compounds and shell deformations and stunting in adult oysters. Laboratory studies have also demonstrated growth inhibition and larval mortality in oysters at organotin concentrations which were sometimes exceeded in the environment. Despite this weight of evidence, it has so far proved impossible to establish a conclusive causal relationship between tributyltin compounds that leach from antifouling paints and the observed detrimental effects in oysters. Appropriate simulation models would be a powerful means of predicting the environmental impact of organotins under a variety of physical, chemical and biological conditions. Their development was considered a high priority.