Chemical Pollution in Oceans

Pollution 

Pollution is defined as the process of introducing harmful or poisonous substances into the natural environment. Ocean pollution is therefore defined as the introduction of toxic materials such as plastic, oil, chemicals, agricultural waste, and industrial waste into the ocean waters. There can be several causes of ocean pollution, but the leading causes include sewage, toxic chemicals from industries, nuclear waste, thermal pollution, plastics, acid rain, and oil spillage. 

Sewage

Sewage is defined as the wastewater and its component excrements that are transported in the sewer system. Sewage is mostly comprised of the human waste from toilet flushing, dirty water from bathing and even animal waste. Most of the wastes find their way into the ocean waters through the sewer systems. Some of the substances that are in the sewage waste are harmful and contribute greatly to ocean pollution. These substances may cause serious health problems to the aquatic creatures once they consume them. 

Industrial Chemicals

Another major pollutant is the chemicals from industries and from the fertilizers and other farm products that are carried by run-off water into the ocean waters. Many industries dump their waste materials and chemicals into the ocean waters. These chemicals pollute the ocean by altering the pH level of the waters. Most aquatic plants and animals cannot survive in adverse pH levels.

Nuclear Waste

Another major ocean pollutant is the nuclear waste, which is mostly produced from industrial, medical, and also scientific procedures that use radioactive material. The common industries that produce nuclear waste include power stations, the military, and the reprocessing plants. This radiation enters the food chain through kelp and plankton, and once the marine animals consume these plants, they become contaminated.

Thermal Pollution

Thermal pollution is the lowering of water quality by any method that tends to change the water temperature. Thermal pollution occurs when power plants and manufacturing companies release hot water into the water streams and oceans and thus causing a change in temperature by raising the temperatures higher. The sudden change in temperature causes reduction in the oxygen supply and this greatly affects the ecosystem composition. Aquatic plants and other organisms that are adapted to a certain temperature range get killed abruptly by the sudden change in temperature by a process known as thermal shock.

Plastics

Plastic pollution mainly involves the accumulation plastic in the ocean waters and thus causing adverse effects on marine organisms. Marine organisms are affected by the plastics through direct ingestion of the plastic wastes and also through exposure to chemicals that are within the plastics.

Acid Rain

Acid rain is not a major cause of ocean pollution, but it also contributes to water pollution. Erupting volcanoes, fossil fuels, rotting vegetation, and nitrogen oxides when released into the atmosphere react with water and other substances in the air to form sulphuric and nitric acid. The wind blows these chemicals across the atmosphere, and when it rains, these chemicals find their way into the marine waters. Acid rain makes water acidic and thus destroys the marine life as most aquatic organisms cannot survive in acidic conditions.

Oil Spills

Oil spillage is another primary cause of ocean pollution in that the oil forms a layer on the water preventing oxygen circulation. Lack of oxygen in the ocean waters results in the destruction of marine life over a long period. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent these pollutants from entering the oceans to protect the marine animals and plants.

How the could be prevented

Chemical pollution is harmful to humans, animals and the environment. Acid rain, ozone depletion and greenhouse gases can be limited by taking the necessary steps in your own household to prevent such pollution. Nearly everything humans do affects air, water and soil quality. The goal of preventing chemical pollution can be achieved, but requires public education, a change in mindset and alteration of long time, ingrained operating procedures.

Cellular effects 

Depletes Oxygen Content in Water

Most of the debris in the ocean does not decompose and remain in the ocean for years. It uses oxygen as it degrades. As a result of this, oxygen levels go down. When oxygen levels go down, the chances of survival of marine animals like whales, turtles, sharks, dolphins, penguins for a long time also goes down.

Micro plastics 

Extremely tiny bits of plastic that accumulate in an organism’s body and releases harmful and deadly chemicals that can lead to cancer, sickness, and death.

Chemicals

The chemicals that are dumped into the ocean, sometimes cause chemical reactions with the ocean water and salt. That then affects the marine animals because they need the normal salt ocean water to survive. 

Organism effects

Effect of Toxic Wastes on Marine Animals

The oil spill is dangerous to marine life in several ways. The oil spilled in the ocean could get on to the gills and feathers of marine animals, which makes it difficult for them to move or fly properly or feed their children. The long-term effect on marine life can include cancer, failure in the reproductive system, behavioural changes, and even death.

Failure in the Reproductive System of Sea Animals

Industrial and agricultural waste include various poisonous chemicals that are considered hazardous for marine life. Chemicals from pesticides can accumulate in the fatty tissue of animals, leading to failure in their reproductive system.

Waste

Animals and organisms may choke and suffocate form waste products like plastics can and more 

Environmental effects

Disruption to the Cycle of Coral Reefs

Oil spill floats on the surface of the water and prevents sunlight from reaching to marine plants and affects the process of photosynthesis. Skin irritation, eye irritation, lung and liver problems can impact marine life over a long period of time.

Effect on Food Chain

Chemicals used in industries and agriculture get washed into the rivers and from there are carried into the oceans. These chemicals do not get dissolved and sink at the bottom of the ocean. Small animals ingest these chemicals and are later eaten by large animals, which then affects the whole food chain.

Affects Human Health

Animals from impacted food chains are then eaten by humans which affects their health as toxins from these contaminated animals get deposited in the tissues of people and can lead to cancer, birth defects or long term health problems.

80% of marine pollution comes from land-based sources.

In many developing countries 90% of waste water and 70% of industrial waste is discharged without treatment.

6.5 million tons of litter enter the world’s Ocean each year. 50% is long-lasting plastic that will drift for hundreds of years before it is degraded.

More than 100,000 chemicals are produced commercially. They represent a threat for oceans through accidents or transport. They can also be emitted in the atmosphere, the soil or the water and reach the oceans.

In 2001, 77 ‘red tide’ events (toxic algal blooms) affected 15,000 km2 offshore waters of China. Major eutrophication (algal bloom linked to an important input of fertilizers) occurred also in estuaries and coastal areas of the Philippines and Thailand.

In the USA diffuse inputs of nitrogen and phosphorus pollution have increased, causing eutrophication, harmful algal blooms, dead zones, coral reef destruction, loss of sea-grass and kelp beds, fish kills, shellfish poisoning and seabird and marine mammal deaths. Around 60 per cent of coastal rivers and bays are severely degraded.

There are 200 known ‘dead zones’, or areas deprived of oxygen and devoid of life (area between 1 and 70,000 km²) in the world ocean: this number has doubled every decade since 1960.

90 % of world international trade tonnage is transported by ship.

There are 6,000 offshore oil and gas installations in operation worldwide that provide about 25 to 30 per cent of the world’s energy supply.

More than 50% of packaged goods and bulk cargoes transported by sea today can be regarded as dangerous or hazardous from safety standpoint or harmful to the environment according to the criteria set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

Around 70 per cent of litter entering the Ocean lands on the seabed (it sinks to the bottom and is found both in shallow coastal areas and in much deeper parts of seas and oceans), 15 per cent on beaches and 15 per cent remains floating on the surface.

12 billion tons of ballast waters containing, at any one time, 3,000 marine species are shipped around the world spreading alien and invasive species.

The Baltic sea area is known to host about one hundred aquatic alien species.

Human health suffers from contamination of coastal water: 250 million of clinical cases (gastro-enteritis + respiratory diseases) are caused annually by bathing in contaminated waters.

One in 20 adults bathing in water deemed officially “acceptable” (according to current microbial standards) will become ill after a single marine bathing exposure.

Eating infected shellfish causes 50,000 to 100,000 deaths every year.

POPs (Persistant Organic Pollutants) concentrate in the food chain (shellfish, fish, marine mammals). Many of the fish that is a primary food source for the indigenous people in the Canadian arctic are heavily contaminated by POPs. High concentrations of pollutants have been found in breast milk of mothers. In East Greenland, 100 per cent of the population has levels of blood contamination of concern.

The global economic cost related to pollution of coastal waters is $16 billion annually, much of which is due to human health impacts.

Worldwide, 100,000 marine mammals and turtles are killed annually by plastic litter. According to estimates, 267 marine species have been reported entangled in or having ingested marine debris.

Harmful algal blooms: the number of poisonous algal species identified by scientists has nearly tripled since 1984, increasing fish kills, beach closures, and economic losses.

Repairing boats damaged by marine debris is expensive. Fixing a small dent in a large vessel can take up to 2 days, costing the shipping company $100,000 for repair and additional $30,000-40,000 per day in lost carrying fees.

Documented economic losses caused by accidental or deliberate introductions of non-indigenous species in the Ocean amount to hundreds of millions of US dollars.

Chemical pollution is the introduction of harmful contaminants. Common man-made pollutants that reach the ocean include pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, detergents, oil, industrial chemicals, and sewage. Many ocean pollutants are released into the environment far upstream from coastlines. I think that chemical pollution is very harmful and destructive to the oceans and the marine ecosystems and organisms living in there. As above the chemical pollution has many impacts and effect on the ocean. But there are many things we can do about it, in fact some people are already doing those things as stated above. We should all make an effort to work together and over all eradicate the problem of chemical pollution in oceans.

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