Sources of Pollutants

• Point Source– Specific location of concentrated

pollutants• Factory Waste, Sewage

• Nonpoint Source– Scattered or diffuse sources of

pollutants • Golf courses, Air-borne, Agriculture

Major Types of Ocean Pollution

• Oil Pollution

• Toxic Materials

• Sewage and Eutrophication

• Garbage

• Radioactive Waste

Oil Pollution

(Courtesy of NOAA)

Global Oil Pollution

Oil Pollution Sources

• Runoff: 363 million gallons/year

• Maintenance: 137 million gallons/year

• Air Pollution: 92 million gallons/year

• Natural Seeps: 62 million gallons/year

• Big Spills: 37 million gallons/year

• Offshore Drilling: 15 million gallons/year

Effects of Oil Pollution

• Kills marine animals– Destroys insulation– Death through ingestion

• Damages ecosystems– Destroys coastal flora and fauna– Devastates local economies

Toxic Materials

(Courtesy of Student Environmental Action Coalition)

Toxic Materials

• Heavy Metals – Lead, Mercury, Cadmium– Dioxin, PCBs, PAHs

• Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)– Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)– Dioxin– Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs)

Toxic Materials• Sources

– Factory Waste– Agriculture– Air Pollution

• Effects– Destroy immune function

• Leads to cancer and other diseases

– Biomagnification and Bioaccumulation• Top predators, such as orcas and tuna can have extremely high

levels of toxics

Sewage and Eutrophication

(photo: Gordon Dalzell)

Sewage and Eutrophication

• Sources– Cities dump sewage, treated or untreated into

ocean– Large vessels, such as cruise ships

• Can dump in pristine areas such as Southeast Alaska

• Effects– Eutrophication: nutrients in sewage cause algae

blooms• Decomposition of dying bloom uses up oxygen

• Lack of oxygen kills animals such as fish

– Introduces pathogens• Pathogens in human waste enter food web

• Can infect people who eat the seafood

Sewage and Eutrophication

Garbage

Garbage

• Sources– Unregulated dumping

• Ships

• Coastal Communities

– 14 Billion pounds of garbage are dumped in the ocean each year

• Effects– Marine animals

• Become ensnared and die

• Ingest garbage and die

– Fouls ship motors and marine machinery

Garbage

Radioactive Waste

Radioactive Waste

• Sources– Dumping at sea is banned

• Discharge from coastal facilities

• Effects– At sea: not well known– On land: causes birth defects and cancer such as

leukemia

Global Treaties on Ocean Pollution

• 1972: The London Convention

• 1973: MARPOL

• 1982: UNCLOS

• 1995: GPA

• Purpose: control all sources of marine pollution and prevent pollution of the sea through regulation of dumping into the sea of waste materials.

• www.londonconvention.org

1972: The London Convention

• Black and Grey List Approach– Blacklist items were prohibited

• Mercury, Cadmium, Persistent Plastics, Oil, Radioactive Waste, Organohalogens

– Grey list items required a permit• Arsenic, Copper, Lead, Cyanide, Fluorides, Pesticides

and Scrap Metal

• Banned most ocean dumping of waste produced on land

1972: The London Convention

1973: MARPOL

• International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from only from ships

• Regulated pollutants that come from ships– Oil, Noxious Liquids, Sewage, Garbage, Ship

Air Pollution

1982: UNCOLS

• United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

• www.un.org/Depts/los/index.htm

• Globally recognized regime dealing with all matters relating to the Law of the Sea

• Key Points– 12-mile territorial sea around all coastal states– Allows for “Transit Passage” of foreign ships

through territorial seas – Creates Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ)

• Coastal states have 200 mile jurisdiction

1982: UNCOLS

1995: GPA

• Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities

• www.gpa.unep.org

• Aims to prevent the degradation of the marine environment from land-based activities

• Recommendations– Identify and assess problems related to

• Food Security and Poverty

• Public Health

• Coastal Ecosystem Health and Biodiversity

• Economic and Social Benefits

• Physical Alteration

1995: GPA

• Recommendations– Identify Sources of Degradation

• Coastal and Upstream Point Sources

• Coastal and Upstream Non-Point Sources

• Atmospheric Deposition

– Establish Priorities for Action– Set Objectives for Priority Problems– Determine Strategies to Achieve Objectives

1995: GPA