78 



Lake Carriers' Association 



U.S. House of Representatives 



Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries 



Hearing on Ballast Exchange Control Act 

 October 27, 1993 



Heating or chemically treating the ballast water. 



Inducing a lethal electrical shock at the intake 



Inducing supersaturation of atmospheric gasses. 



Physically pulverizing entrained organisms 



Disinfecting ballast water with ultraviolet light. 



Depriving ballast water of oxygen. 



Coating ballast tanks with biocides. 



Install smaller intake screens. 



Install filters. 



Repel with sound. 



Carbonate ballast water with carbon dioxide. 



Agitate water after intake. 



Ultrasonic treatment. 



Many of these suggestions are impractical from an operational viewpoint. Just given the volumes of 

 water involved (more than 14 million gallons on our largest ships) building retaining facilities ashore or 

 retaining the water on ship is either cost prohibitive or physically impossible. Heating the water would 

 require such expensive retrofitting that the vessel could not economically compete for cargo. The use of 

 chemicals would require approvals that have yet to be granted by the U.S. Envirorunental Protective 

 Agency and could pose a threat to the ship's crew and shipyard workers. 



The problem of ballast water transport of non-indigenous species is worldwide. The United States 

 Coast Guard recently produced a video about this subject to underscore the severity of the problem. 

 Lake Carriers' Association then produced its own educational video designed for the Great Lakes 

 domestic trade audience. 



-Pai;c n of '- 



