Marine pollution can start as far away as middle-America. Any toxic materials that are put into rivers and bodies of water can flow eventually to the oceans. Run-off from drains and areas adjacent to the ocean is also a severe problem, bringing all kinds of materials into the sea.
Toxic pollutants in the ocean have considerable impacts on plants and animals. Heavy metal poisoning from elements such as lead and mercury, caused by industry, builds up in the tissues of top predators such as whales and sharks, causing birth defects and nervous system damage. Dioxins from pulp and paper mills, and poly-aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH's) from oil pollution and burning wood and coal cause genetic problems in marine animals. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB’s) from electrical equipment can cause birth problems in most marine organisms. Sewage can cause massive nutrient loading in the oceans, which leads to algal blooms, effectively decreasing the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water and many organisms die from lack of oxygen. Sewage also introduces parasites and bacteria, which can cause beach and shellfish harvesting closures.
Garbage has always been discarded into the ocean, but since the 1940s, plastic use has increased dramatically, resulting in a huge quantity of nearly indestructible, lightweight material floating in the oceans and eventually deposited on beaches worldwide. Marine garbage includes fishing nets, plastics, party balloons, beach toys, general household garbage. Animals eat this garbage and it strangles them or blocks their digestive system causing starvation. Entanglement can also constrict growth and circulation, causing eventual slow death, or trap marine animals within large debris, leading to drowning, starvation or attack by predators. Even if just attached, it slows the animals’ ability to move through the water, and animals starve due to their inability to catch prey.
Toxic pollutants in the ocean have considerable impacts on plants and animals. Heavy metal poisoning from elements such as lead and mercury, caused by industry, builds up in the tissues of top predators such as whales and sharks, causing birth defects and nervous system damage. Dioxins from pulp and paper mills, and poly-aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH's) from oil pollution and burning wood and coal cause genetic problems in marine animals. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB’s) from electrical equipment can cause birth problems in most marine organisms. Sewage can cause massive nutrient loading in the oceans, which leads to algal blooms, effectively decreasing the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water and many organisms die from lack of oxygen. Sewage also introduces parasites and bacteria, which can cause beach and shellfish harvesting closures.
Garbage has always been discarded into the ocean, but since the 1940s, plastic use has increased dramatically, resulting in a huge quantity of nearly indestructible, lightweight material floating in the oceans and eventually deposited on beaches worldwide. Marine garbage includes fishing nets, plastics, party balloons, beach toys, general household garbage. Animals eat this garbage and it strangles them or blocks their digestive system causing starvation. Entanglement can also constrict growth and circulation, causing eventual slow death, or trap marine animals within large debris, leading to drowning, starvation or attack by predators. Even if just attached, it slows the animals’ ability to move through the water, and animals starve due to their inability to catch prey.
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