Isothiazolone Volatility Study of a Water Bottom from Fuel Treated with Kathon(trade name) FP1.5 Biocide

An analytical method based on the gas chromatographicmass spectrometry separation and detection of the two isothiazolones 5-chloro-2- methyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one and 2-methyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one, the active ingredients in one commercially available biocide used to treat fuel systems contaminated with microbiological growth, is described. A modification of this method, to allow static headspace detection of these isothiazolones, is also described. Results of experiments using the modified technique demonstrated that these two compounds do not volatilize from a sea water solution at temperatures up to 70 deg C. This suggests that un-depleted isothiazolone in the water bottom, of fuel tanks treated with Kathon FP1.5 biocide, would not volatilize into the habitable air space above the bilge to generate toxic components that could then be inhaled by the personnel working in the immediate vicinity. Microbiological Contamination, Isothiazolone, Kathon FPI.5, Headspace Analysis.