TY - JOUR A1 - Bell, A. M. A1 - von der Au, Marcus A1 - Regnery, J. A1 - Schmid, M. A1 - Meermann, Björn A1 - Reifferscheid, G. A1 - Ternes, T. A1 - Buchinger, S. T1 - Does galvanic cathodic protection by aluminum anodes impact marine organisms? JF - Environmental Sciences Europe N2 - Background: Cathodic protection by sacrifcial anodes composed of aluminum-zinc-indium alloys is often applied to protect ofshore support structures of wind turbines from corrosion. Given the considerable growth of renewable energies and thus ofshore wind farms in Germany over the last decade, increasing levels of aluminum, Indium and zinc are released to the marine environment. Although these metals are ecotoxicologically well-studied, data regarding their impact on marine organisms, especially sediment-dwelling species, as well as possible ecotoxicological efects of galvanic anodes are scarce. To investigate possible ecotoxicological efects to the marine environment, the diatom Phaedactylum tricornutum, the bacterium Aliivibrio fscheri and the amphipod Corophium volutator were exposed to dissolved galvanic anodes and solutions of aluminum and zinc, respectively, in standardized laboratory tests using natural seawater. In addition to acute toxicological efects, the uptake of these elements by C. volutator was investigated. Results: The investigated anode material caused no acute toxicity to the tested bacteria and only weak but signifcant efects on algal growth. In case of the amphipods, the single elements Al and Zn showed signifcant efects only at the highest tested concentrations. Moreover, an accumulation of Al and In was observed in the crustacea species. Conclusions: Overall, the fndings of this study indicated no direct environmental impact on the tested marine organisms by the use of galvanic anodes for cathodic protection. However, the accumulation of metals in, e.g., crustaceans might enhance their trophic transfer within the marine food web. KW - Galvanic anodes KW - Metal toxicity KW - Metal uptake KW - Corophium volutator KW - Seawater PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-520769 DO - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12302-020-00441-3 VL - 32 IS - 1 SP - Article number 157 AN - OPUS4-52076 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -