Bronte Wells
Ocean pollution is a pressing issue that poses a significant threat to marine ecosystems and human well-being. The oceans, covering over 70% of the Earth's surface, are essential for regulating the climate, purifying the air, providing a livelihood for millions, and supporting most of the life on our planet. However, human activities have led to the oceans becoming a dumping ground for various pollutants, including plastic, oil spills, toxic waste, and carbon emissions. These pollutants have far-reaching consequences, from harming marine life and disrupting food chains to contaminating seafood consumed by humans and degrading coastal environments vital for tourism and local economies. With plastic production projected to increase by 40% in the next decade and the ongoing challenges of deep-sea mining and ship pollution, the damage inflicted on our oceans is intensifying, underscoring the urgent need for global action to address this crisis.
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![A Plastic Ocean [DVD]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51Kg3BhP64L._AC_UY218_.jpg)
What You'll Learn
Oil spills and leaks
Oil spills have devastating effects on marine ecosystems. They can poison marine life, such as fish, birds, and mammals, and smother corals and mangroves. Oil spills can also lead to closed beaches, fishing bans, and lost livelihoods for coastal communities. The impact of oil spills can be long-lasting, with oil lingering in the environment for decades and causing irreversible damage.
One example of the lasting impact of oil spills is the Exxon Valdez tanker spill in Alaska's Prince William Sound in 1989, where oil still remains decades later. Another example is the MT Princess Empress oil spill, which spread across 120 kilometers of ocean and affected the mangroves and marine life along the Philippine coast. Smaller spills also contribute to chronic oil pollution and can have significant impacts on the environment.
To address the issue of oil spills, the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 was established in the United States, holding responsible parties accountable for cleanup and restoration costs. Over the last 30 years, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has helped recover over $9 billion from those responsible for oil spills to fund restoration projects.
While efforts are being made to mitigate the impact of oil spills, they continue to pose a significant threat to ocean health and the livelihoods of coastal communities. It is important to reduce the risk of oil spills and improve response and restoration measures to protect marine ecosystems and the communities that depend on them.
Pollution's Harmful Effects on Human Health
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Plastic pollution
Plastic is one of the most durable materials ever created, taking hundreds of years to degrade. This means that once plastic enters the ocean, it will persist there for long periods, causing a range of issues. The most visible impacts of plastic pollution are the ingestion, suffocation, and entanglement of species. Marine wildlife, including birds, whales, fish, seals, crustaceans, and turtles, mistake plastic waste for food, leading to starvation, intestinal injuries, and death. It also causes internal and external injuries that affect the ability to swim and fly.
The impact of plastic pollution extends beyond marine life, affecting human health and economies. Microplastics have been detected in human blood, placentas, food, drinks, and the environment. The chemicals used in plastic production are known to be carcinogenic and can cause developmental, reproductive, neurological, and immune disorders. The build-up of plastic litter can also negatively impact a country's economy and trade, affecting sectors such as small and medium enterprises, tourism, fisheries, and agriculture.
Addressing plastic pollution requires a multifaceted approach, including improved waste management, reducing single-use plastic consumption, advocating for regulations, and supporting initiatives that focus on ocean clean-up and pollution prevention.
Primary Pollutants Transform: Understanding Secondary Pollution
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Noise pollution
Ocean noise pollution is a form of environmental pollution caused by human activities such as commercial shipping, oil exploration, seismic surveys, offshore wind turbine installation, and military sonar. These activities generate unnatural and excessive sound underwater, which can have devastating effects on marine wildlife, as most marine species depend on sound for survival.
One of the major contributors to ocean noise pollution is cargo vessels, which produce very low-frequency sounds that can travel hundreds of kilometres underwater. The constant drone of shipping lanes can mask the natural sounds of the sea, interfering with important biological and ecological processes. For example, loud shipping noises have caused whales to abandon their feeding grounds, depriving them of essential nutrients and threatening their survival. Noise pollution has also been linked to increased stress levels in right whales and temporary hearing damage in sea turtles.
The extremely powerful sound waves generated by military sonar and seismic surveys can cause direct physical harm to marine mammals, with sound levels exceeding 230 decibels, comparable to a rocket launch. These loud noises can cause hearing loss and even internal injuries or death in extreme cases. Seismic surveys, in particular, have been found to severely damage the internal organs of giant squid and kill zooplankton within a 1.2-kilometre radius.
To address ocean noise pollution, efforts should focus on reducing noise at the source. This includes adopting quieter technologies, such as "marine vibroseis" for seismic surveys and quieter ship designs with optimised propellers. Slowing down ships can also significantly reduce noise emissions. While there are currently no international standards for regulating ocean noise pollution, creating and enforcing such regulations would have a significant impact on reducing this form of pollution.
Cooling Towers: Pollution or Efficiency?
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Chemical pollution
Marine pollution is a combination of chemicals and trash, most of which comes from human activities on land. Chemical contamination, or nutrient pollution, is a pressing concern for health, environmental, and economic reasons. This type of pollution occurs when human activities, such as the use of fertilizer on farms, lead to the runoff of chemicals into waterways that eventually flow into the ocean.
Nitrogen and phosphorus pollution, also known as eutrophic pollution, has a global impact on oceans, particularly in coastal areas near estuaries. Agriculture is a significant source of this pollution, with the runoff of excess nutrients from animal manure and chemical fertilizers. On average, around 20% of nitrogen fertilizer is lost through surface runoff or leaching into groundwater, and up to 60% can vaporize into the atmosphere, eventually finding its way into the ocean. The increased concentration of these chemicals in coastal areas promotes the growth of algal blooms, which can be toxic to wildlife and harmful to humans.
Other sources of chemical pollution in the ocean include crude oil and other petroleum products, antifoulants, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and personal care products. Oil spills have garnered significant attention due to their devastating impact on marine ecosystems. While major oil spills have declined due to improved technologies and policies, they still occur and are challenging to clean up. Even smaller spills contribute to long-lasting pollution. Oil from boats, airplanes, cars, trucks, and even lawnmowers also contributes to water pollution.
Additionally, chemical discharges from factories, raw sewage overflow from water treatment systems, and stormwater and agricultural runoff introduce toxic chemicals into marine environments. These chemicals can have far-reaching effects, impacting the health and reproduction of marine species and ultimately affecting human health as toxins accumulate in the food chain.
The use of plastics is another significant contributor to chemical pollution in the ocean. Toxic chemical additives are incorporated into plastics during their manufacture to enhance specific properties. These additives can comprise up to 60% of the total weight of plastic products and include plasticizers, flame retardants, antioxidants, UV stabilizers, and pigments. Microplastics, which are less than 5 millimeters in diameter, have been detected in various marine species, including plankton and whales. As small organisms that consume microplastics are eaten by larger animals, toxic chemicals migrate up the food chain, eventually reaching humans.
Biological Pollution: Harming Nature's Balance
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Radioactive waste
From 1946 to 1993, thirteen countries, including the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Japan, dumped approximately 200,000 tons of radioactive waste into the oceans. This waste included liquids and solids, as well as reactor vessels, some of which contained spent or damaged nuclear fuel. Since 1993, ocean disposal of radioactive waste has been banned by international treaties like the London Convention and the Basel Convention. However, accidents and leaks from nuclear power plants and reprocessing facilities continue to contribute to radioactive contamination in the oceans.
One of the most well-known examples is the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in Japan in 2011, where thousands of tons of contaminated water were released into the Pacific Ocean. Studies have shown that radioactive material from these accidents can travel with ocean currents, be deposited in marine sediments, and climb the marine food web. For instance, elevated levels of radioactive iodine-131 and cesium-137 have been detected near the Fukushima plant, indicating the presence of radioactive contaminants in the seawater.
The impact of radioactive contamination on marine life and humans is still not fully understood. While mass dumping of nuclear material by the Soviets in the Arctic has not definitively shown widespread harm to marine life, the containment vessels around the dumped reactors may be mitigating the escape of radiation. In contrast, the release of radioactive waste from the Fukushima plant has resulted in the detection of nuclear isotopes moving up the local food chain.
The disposal of radioactive waste in the ocean floor sediment, known as ocean floor disposal or sub-seabed disposal, has been proposed as a potential solution. This method involves encasing the waste in concrete or depositing it in shafts drilled into the ocean floor. While this approach could potentially limit the migration of dissolved waste, recovering the waste if needed would be extremely difficult. Additionally, establishing an international structure to regulate and monitor a sub-seabed repository would present significant technical and political challenges.
Wildfire Ash: A Lingering Pollution Problem
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Frequently asked questions
There are an estimated 15-51 trillion pieces of plastic currently in the ocean, with billions of pounds more entering every year. Plastic debris can absorb toxic chemicals, poisoning marine life. It is estimated that over 100,000 marine animals die each year from ingesting or becoming entangled in plastic.
Oceans provide over 97% of the world's water supply and over 70% of the oxygen we breathe. Ocean pollution has contaminated seafood, which can cause serious health issues, including cancer and damage to the immune system. It has also limited the world's water reserves.
The majority of ocean pollution comes from human activities along coastlines and far inland. One of the biggest sources is nonpoint source pollution, which occurs as a result of runoff from sources like septic tanks, vehicles, farms, and factories.
