1. Beth Roland Eighth Grade Science Team 5 Mountaineers
Ocean Pollution
Beth Roland
Eighth Grade Science
Team 5 Mountaineers

2. What is Ocean Pollution?
Pollution: damage to the environment as a result of contamination by chemicals, biological agents, sediment, radiation, or heat

3. Coastal Pollution
Coastal waters are MOST sensitive to pollution because they are:
– Heavily used
– Close to sources of pollution
– Shallow-water bodies
– Not as well circulated as the open ocean
Coastal pollution is made up of marine
pollution and marine debris

4. Pollution: Cause and Effect
The introduction by man, directly or indirectly, of
substances or energy into the marine
environment, including estuaries, and has the following effects:
– harm to marine life
– hazards to human health
– adversely affects marine activities, including fishing and
other uses of the sea
– decreases quality for use of sea water
(World Health Organization)

5. Main Sources of Marine Pollution
• Petroleum (oil)
• Sewage sludge
• DDT and PCBs
• Mercury
• Point source: clearly discernable in terms of origin
(municipal sewage outfall, oil tanker spills, offshore oil
well blowouts)
• Non-point-source pollution: ill-defined or diffused
sources, runoff (harbors and marinas, TBT, powerboat
pollution, invasive species, agriculture, forestry, urban
runoff, marine debris, air pollution, noise pollution,
dredging

6. Impact of an Oil Spill
• When oil washes up on a beach, it can negatively
affect the marine environment
• Oil can coat aquatic life
and render their insulating fur or feathers useless

7. Sludge Depository Sewage sludge is the semisolid material that
remains after
sewage treatment
• Much sewage sludge
was dumped
offshore until laws
restricted sewage
dumping

8. DDT and PCB’s
DDT was a widely used pesticide that became concentrated in marine fish
-DDT caused brown pelicans and ospreys to produce thin egg shells
- Worldwide, DDT has been banned from agricultural use but is still found in developing countries
PCBs are industrial chemicals used as liquid coolants and insulation in industrial equipment such as power transformers
-PCBs enter the marine environment through leaks and from discarded equipment
-PCBs can accumulate in animal tissues and
affect reproduction

9. Current Laws Regulating Off-shore Dumping

10. Plastic in an Aquatic Environment