Marine Biology
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Marine Biology
A major source of coastal pollutants, human sewage fouls bays and beaches with
both toxic and nontoxic pollutants. Although billions of dollars have been
invested in sewage treatment plants to treat wastewater, new and growing coastal
communities have increased the amount of discharge into oceans and estuaries.
The United States Office of Technology Assessment has identified thirteen
hundred major industries and six hundred municipal wastewater treatment plants
that discharge into coastal waters of the United States. Many toxic substances
enter the sea through the sewer systems, but others originate as industrial
discharges. For many toxic substances, we do not yet know how to determine their
extent or fate in the marine environment or to evaluate their effects on marine
life. Some of the better-known trace metals and toxic chemicals include mercury,
copper, lead, and chlorinated hydrocarbons. Chlorinated hydrocarbons, synthetic
chlorine-containing compounds, are created for use as pesticides or are
by-products of the manufacture of plastics. Oil is a very dangerous thing when
it comes to oil spills into the ocean. These catastrophic oil spills engender a
concern for the marine environment as no invisible containment can. Spilled oil
floats on seawater and provides a constant reminder of its presence until it is
washed ashore, sinks, or evaporates. Large volumes of oil suffocate benthic
organisms by clogging their gills and filteri...
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