Metal contamination of sediment by paint peeling from abandoned boats, with particular reference to lead

- Fragments of paint have been sampled from abandoned boats in eastern England.
- XRF analysis of fragments reveals variable concentrations of Cu, Pb and Zn.
- Local contamination of sediment is attributed to peeling paint.
- Pb is of greatest concern from both environmental and human health perspectives.

Fragments of flaking paint have been sampled from eighteen boats (including sailing barges, houseboats, a trawler and a ferry) abandoned on the intertidal mudflats of two estuaries in eastern England and analysed for Cu, Pb and Zn by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry. Median concentrations of Pb on each boat ranged from about 350 to 35,000 μg g− 1, with individual concentrations exceeding 200,000 μg g− 1 in several cases. Median concentrations of Cu and Zn ranged from about 50 to 1900 μg g− 1 and 50 to 10,000 μg g− 1, respectively, with respective maxima of 172,000 μg g− 1 and 239,000 μg g− 1. Because of peeling paint, local sediment (analysed by ICP following acid digestion) was often measurably contaminated by the metals and, based on median, Al-normalised enrichment factors, in the order Pb > Zn > Cu. Due to its abundance and persistence in old paints, Pb is of greatest concern from both environmental and human health perspectives.