MSU Biologist Designs Device to Remove Ship Organisms

Montclair State University professor Meiyin Wu believes has come up with a simple device to help container ships kill off tiny, undesirable sea creatures attaching themselves to ships from far off ports, according to a published report Sunday.

The biologist and director of the Passaic River Institute believes the creatures, which have been plaguing local fisheries and clog the intake pipes of drinking water treatment facilities and power plants, can be killed off using sound waves, according to a NorthJersey.com report.

"Ultrasound has special properties that have already been in use as a disinfectant to control unwanted organisms, such as bacteria in laboratories or surgical settings," said Wu, adding, "It has been used to disinfect swimming pools and drinking water."

In 2004, the Coast Guard began requiring ships to exchange ballast water while at sea, but officials were not always getting the desired results, the report said. If there is bad weather, for instance, the flushing can't be attempted at all.

So, Meiyin Wu, with the help of physicist Junru Wu (no relation) of the University of Vermont, a device, which they call a BallastSolution, was created to send sound waves at frequencies above the range of human hearing through the water as it flows through a pipe. Testing has shown the device has killed 99 percent of organisms present in the water, the report said.

Up to 3,200 ships call each year on the six container terminals operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, with the bulk of them landing at Newark and Elizabeth, the report said.