Bottom Paint: Toxic to Kids?

[SAGE9]

I am planning to power wash my hull to remove bottom paint. Run-off etc. will likely run down my driveway and into neighborhood street where 1 - 5 yr old kids love to kick around in rain puddles. Would puddles of bottom paint run-off be a hazard to kids? Just curious.

Thanks.

[SAGE9]

Someone out there must have an opinion........

Reel Rascals - any thoughts? I can see it now, neighborhood kids splashing away in black puddles or anti-fouling hogwash.

Regards.

[Ray]

I would call some of the paint companies. Give place like New England Boatworks in RI and other big yards a call.

[detra-tone]

I know the copper containing paints are highly toxic if dust/flakes are injested or inhaled. Definitely a no no in the neighborhood puddles. FWIW usually the surface underneath the antifoul paint is roughed up so that the paint will stick, if you are hoping for a nice smooth finish-- know that hours of wetsanding will likely be involved.

Local boatyards can soda-blast the paint off. Also beware that powerwashing can sometimes imbed water into the gelcoat. I know whaler specifically recommends not to powerwash.

[Go Fish]

Sage9-

I did an extensive refurbishment of my hull a few years back that included removal of approximately 10 years of bottom paint. From my experience, power washing will do nothing but remove any loose paint from the bottom.

Soda blasting, chemical stripping (the method I used in conjunction with tons of sanding) and old fashioned sanding are the only effective ways that I know of for removing bottom paint.

The active ingredient in bottom paint is Copper(II) or copper atoms with a +2 charge. The Material Data Safety Sheet (MSDS) for copper sulfate, a common Copper(II) compound indicates accute toxicity in humans through inhalation and ingestion. The LD-50 (Lethal Dose - 50%) for ingestion in rats is 300 mg/kg. What this means is rats that were fed 300 mg of copper sulphate per kilogram of body mass died 50% of the time. Data like this is routinely used in industry to establish safe exposure limits for humans.

Your typical 50 lb human kid weighs about 22 kg. If that kid got 6.8 grams (0.24 oz) of copper(II) in his or her system there is a 50% chance of a fatality.

I recommend you DO NOT mess around with bottom paint around kids or pets or anywhere it has a chance of making it into ground water. The toxicity to aquatic life is much higher than it is in mammals (humans).

I went through alot of trouble to contain and dispose of the waste I generated while doing by bottom refurb. I also used serious air filtration and body covering to protect myself. In hind site, it would have been well worth the $1000-2000 bucks to have it removed by pros.

[SAGE9]

Great information guys. Thanks so much and for saving the neighborhood. :brow

Looks like I will just paint over the existing layers for now to clean up the general appearance of the hull and deal with this next spring.