Buy a full case and the price per unit drops automaticallyRequest a sample
AccountCart0
All ContainersBottlesJarsCaps & ClosuresPumps & SprayersTubs & PailsJugsDroppersTinsTubesAccessories
Industries
Personal CareShop all 934 items →
AromatherapyContainers →BathContainers →Body careContainers →Color cosmeticsContainers →DeodorantContainers →FragranceContainers →GroomingContainers →Hair careContainers →Lip careContainers →NailContainers →Oral careContainers →Skin and faceContainers →Soap and washContainers →Sun and protectionContainers →
Written in depth:BathBody careColor cosmeticsDeodorantFragranceGroomingHair careLip careNailOral careSkin and faceSoapmakingSun and protectionEverything we have written →
Learn
Beekeeping100Hot sauce making90Jam and preserves96Pickles and ferments64Sauces and condiments36Syrups36Oils and vinegars34Nut butters and spreads33Dairy and alternatives33Coffee and tea36Confection31Resin and casting27Supplement liquids23Laboratory17Dispensing13Photography and darkroom14Industrial chemical14Prepared and deli15Body care14Color cosmetics13Bath14Pet health15Toiletry decanting14Oral care14Capsules and tablets14Nail14Fragrance15Deodorant17Beverages14Hospitality14Miniature painting15Shop consumables15Hair care15Resin jewelry15Pet and veterinary15Classroom and home lab14Marine14Camping and backpacking14Beach and field finds15Wine15Soap and candle supply17Numismatic and philatelic15Air and fabric20Animal and apiary19Growing inputs20Spirits20Laundry20Adhesive and finish20Grooming20Fossils16Janitorial16Baking and dry goods16Seed storage17Specimens16Paint and ink18Automotive fluids18Wax melts17Diffusers17Detailing15Sun and protection18Dish and hand16Soapmaking91Candle making93Beverages92Cleaning products92Lip care89Minerals and rocks93Powders91Skin and face91Spices and seasoning91Findings and components16
All 2,241 pages we have written →
Marine
All Containers›Shop by use case›Marine›The sheen standard›A line you can seeShop all marine →
The sheen standard

A line you can see

By Dwight Davis, Founder

On this page11
No milliliters anywhere in the standard. If it sheens, it is over.

The wording

A discharge of oil in quantities that may be harmful includes one that "cause a film or sheen upon or discoloration of the surface of the water or adjoining shorelines or cause a sludge or emulsion to be deposited beneath the surface of the water or upon adjoining shorelines".

And the other limb

A discharge that violates "applicable water quality standards". Which brings in the standards for that water body, and those vary.

Read what the sheen limb does not say

It names no volume, no concentration and no mass. The test is the appearance of the water, which makes it observable by anybody standing on a dock.

Which is the practical point for a boat owner

You cannot be under the limit by spilling a little. A very small quantity of oil spreads far enough to make a visible film, and the film is the standard.

Adjoining shorelines are in the text

So a spill on a trailer at a ramp, or on a dock that drains to the water, is reached as well. The deck is not a safe place to spill either.

Sludge or emulsion beneath the surface too

Which catches a product that sinks or disperses rather than floating. An emulsifying cleaner that takes oil under the surface has not solved the problem, it has changed where the problem is.

That matters for boat cleaners specifically

A cleaner whose selling point is that it disperses oil is a cleaner that may be producing exactly the sludge or emulsion the second half of the clause names. Worth reading the clause before writing the copy.

The consequence is not small

The placard regulation summarizes it: substantial civil penalties and criminal sanctions including fines and imprisonment. The statute behind it is the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.

And a spill is reportable

The reporting obligation that attaches to a harmful-quantity discharge is part of the same regime. Who to call and when is a question for the Coast Guard rather than for a packaging catalog.

Which is why the container is the control

Prevention is the only strategy that works against a standard with no de minimis. A closure that does not leak is the entire compliance program available to a boat owner.

References

40 CFR 110.3, discharge of oil in such quantities as "may be harmful" under section 311(b)(4) of the Clean Water Act. Such discharges are those that "(a) Violate applicable water quality standards" or "(b) Cause a film or sheen upon or discoloration of the surface of the water or adjoining shorelines or cause a sludge or emulsion to be deposited beneath the surface of the water or upon adjoining shorelines". law.cornell.edu
33 CFR 155.450. "A ship, except a ship of less than 26 feet in length, must have a placard", "at least 5 by 8 inches, made of durable material", fixed "in a conspicuous place in each machinery space, or at the bilge and ballast pump control station", stating "Discharge of Oil Prohibited" and setting out that the Federal Water Pollution Control Act prohibits the discharge of oil into the navigable waters of the United States, on pain of "substantial civil penalties and/or criminal sanctions including fines and imprisonment". The placard "must be printed in the language or languages understood by the crew". law.cornell.edu
Written from 40 CFR 110.3 and 33 CFR 155.450, and from the catalog as it stood on 18 October 2026. The Vessel General Permit, the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act and in-water hull cleaning rules are named and not summarized; state and local rules on boat washing and marina discharge vary by water body. Whether a specific product may be used in the water is a question about that product and that water.