Green screen: The complexities surrounding environmentally acceptable lubricants call for a high level ot vigilance from ship owners and operators

摘要

At the end of 2013,the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mandated the use of environmentally acceptable lubricants' (EALs) in all oil-to-sea interfaces for all vessels calling in American waters. The decision, which is a condition of the latest version of the Vessel General Permit (VGP), has been lauded by environmentalists. After all, the move paves the way for other countries - if not the industry as a whole -to make similar efforts that will reduce shipping's impact on marine life and the human population. The EPA's VGP 2013 regulations stipulate that these lubricants must exhibit three specific and measurable capability characteristics in addition to being suitable for the specific role they are selected for, namely: 1. Biodegradation: the rate of natural chemical breakdown 2. Bio-accumulation: the potential for materials to enter the food chain resulting from accumulation in the fatty tissues of organisms 3. Toxicity: the degree of harm that the material will do if ingested.