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posted by Fnord666 on Wednesday June 28 2017, @09:56AM   Printer-friendly
from the unintended-consequences dept.

A move by China to save the planet has delivered a price shock to the global shipping industry just as it was starting to emerge from its worst slump in almost a decade.

China manufacturers make 90 percent of all containers used on ships to carry all manner of finished products and commodities around the world. They're the workhorses of the global economy. As part of their pledge to cut emissions by 70 percent by the end of this year, these companies are coating containers with water-borne paints that release less toxic fumes than oil-based varieties before China starts levying a green tax in January 2018.

It's a noble effort—yet one that's delivered an unintended blow to the shipping industry. About 70 percent of container production capacity in China has been shut down as manufacturers retool their factories to allow for the usage of the new paints, sending prices soaring as much as 69 percent from last year's lows, said Teo Siong Seng, chief executive officer at Singamas Container Holdings Ltd., the world's No. 2 maker.

It's not just the container manufacturers shutting down to retool, but that the new water-based paint takes 20 hours to dry vs. 4 hours for conventional paints.


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  • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Thursday June 29 2017, @12:26AM

    by JoeMerchant (3937) on Thursday June 29 2017, @12:26AM (#532711)

    To even think that somehow the (mostly) water based paint might be more toxic once dried than the old paint is ludicrous, though.

    Ludicrous does not mean "very possibly true," just incase that's what you're thinking it means.

    Either form of finished paint can be more or less toxic depending on your choice of components (lead vs titanium, for example), but the water based paints have a much more restricted set of choices for components - so.... it is entirely possible to make a _less_ toxic finished paint product if you use VOCs instead of water for solvent - all else (primarily service life and cost) being equal. TFS already said that process cost is way up for water: 5x the drying time means 20% of the throughput in the drying facilities per square foot.

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