Cobalt blue
Cobalt blue in impure forms had long been used in Chinese porcelain, but it was independently discovered as a pure alumina-based pigment by Louis Jacques Thénard in 1802. Commercial production began in France in 1807. The first recorded use of "cobalt blue" as a color name in English was in 1777. The leading world manufacturer of cobalt blue in the 19th century was Benjamin Wegner's Norwegian company Blaafarveværket ("blue colour works" in Dano-Norwegian). Germany was also famous for production, especially the blue colour works ("Blaufarbenwerke") in the Ore Mountains of Saxony.
Biofouling
The 1960s brought a breakthrough, with self-polishing paints that used seawater's ability to hydrolize the paint's copolymer bond and release the stored toxin at a slow, controlled rate. These paints employed organotin chemistry ("tin-based") biotoxins such as tributyltin oxide (TBT) and were effective for up to four years. The discovery that these biotoxins have severe impact on mariculture, with biological effects to marine life at a concentration of 1 nanogram per liter, led to their worldwide ban by the International Maritime Organization in October 2001. TBT in particular has been described as the most toxic pollutant ever deliberately released in the ocean.