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The Marine Environment; Ocean Dumping

The Marine Environment; Ocean Dumping. By Daniel Gauci. Time to act!. Every day, water vehicles such as trawlers and cargo ships are throwing chemical wastes which not only are making the sea unsuitable for our needs but, also destructive for our fragile, marine environment.

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The Marine Environment; Ocean Dumping

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  1. The Marine Environment;Ocean Dumping By Daniel Gauci

  2. Time to act! • Every day, water vehicles such as trawlers and cargo ships are throwing chemical wastes which not only are making the sea unsuitable for our needs but, also destructive for our fragile, marine environment. Hazardous wastes always populating our oceans

  3. Waste in the ocean • The most toxic waste material dumped into the ocean includes dredged material, industrial waste, sewage sludge, and radioactive waste. Dredging contributes about 80% of all waste dumped into the ocean, adding up to several million tons of material dumped each year. Industrial wastes Sewage Sludge Radioactive Waste Dredged Material

  4. Dredged Material • Rivers, canals, and harbors are dredged to remove silt and sand buildup or to establish new waterways. About 20-22% of dredged material is dumped into the ocean. The remainder is dumped into other waters or landfills and some is used for development. About 10% of all dredged material is polluted with heavy metals such as mercury. Dumped Dredged Material Dangerous Wastes

  5. Industrial wastes • In the 1970s, 17 million tons of industrial waste was legally dumped into the ocean. In the 1980's, 8 million tons were dumped including acids, alkaline waste, scrap metals, waste from fish processing, flue, sludge, and coal ash. Radioactive Sludge from industries Industrial waste

  6. Sewage Sludge • If sludge from the treatment of sewage is not contaminated by oils, organic chemicals and metals, it can be recycled as fertilizer for crops. • It is cheaper for treatment centers to dump this material into the ocean, particularly if it is chemically contaminated. The peak of sewage dumping was 18 million tons in 1980, a number that was reduced to 12 million tons in the 1990s. Sludge can be used as a fertiliser Sludge Pool

  7. Radioactive Wastes • Radioactive waste is also dumped in the oceans and usually comes from the nuclear power process, medical use of radioisotopes, research use of radioisotopes and industrial uses. The difference between industrial waste and nuclear waste is that nuclear waste usually remains radioactive for decades. The dumping of radioactive material has reached its peak. The high point of nuclear waste dumping was in 1954 and 1962, but this nuclear waste only accounts for 1% of the total amount that has been dumped in the ocean.

  8. Effects on Fishermen • When waste materials find their way into the ocean, marine organisms suffer toxic effects and seafood is often contaminated. • Because of this , fisheries suffer adverse affects such as unsuccessful spawning in herring and lobster populations where the sea floor is covered in silt. Dirty seas causes fish contamination

  9. Some Effects Of Ocean Dumping; • The destruction of entire habitats and ecosystems when excess sediment builds up and toxins are released. • The death of plankton and other marine organisms breaks down the nutrition cycle. • The destruction of coral reefs. • An unpleasant environment to live in.

  10. Oil Spills • An oil spill is the release of oil into the environment due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term often refers to marine oil spills, where oil is released into the ocean or coastal waters. The oil may be a variety of materials, including crude oil, refined petroleum products or by-products, ships bunkers, oily refuse or oil mixed in waste. Spills take months or even years to clean up. A beach after an oil spill This resulted to the death of many animals

  11. Preventing all of this Dredged material; This can be recycled and re-used again to decrease unsuitable materials in our Oceans Industrial wastes; Laws must be made about dumping industrial wastes in oceans so that to take care of these wastes in a more environmental- friendly way

  12. Sludge; If it is well- treated, it can be turned into fertiliser for crops although, this is an expensive process but decreases pollutants in our Oceans Nuclear wastes; The protocol of disposing of nuclear waste involves special treatment by keeping it in concrete drums so that it doesn’t spread when it hits the ocean floor. The dumping of radioactive material has reached a total of 84,000 TBq

  13. WORKFOR A BETTER WORLD!!

  14. THE END

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