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 Essay Environmental Pollution

Oceans are in opmental activities are re-
sulting in marine pollution.
peril. Two scientists Pollution is a major
examine the major problem that has negative
reasons of marine effects on all of the plan-
pollution by et's ecosystems, including
reviewing the the oceans. In many parts
of the globe, economic de-
existing monitoring velopment has been most
and control active in coastal zones, put-
measures. ting enormous pressures on
coastal ecosystems. Coastal
and marine water pollution
has increased throughout
the world, mainly due to
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF direct discharges from riv-
Table 1: Marine pollutants of global concern
Pollutant
Petroleum hydrocarbons
Sewage
Halogenated hydrocarbons
Other organic compounds
Trace Metals
Description
Crude oil and some of its refined
products
Effects of sewage pollution are
generally local ones but sewage
may contain some of the other
toxic chemicals.
Including compounds such as
DDT and the PCBs together with
their degradation and combustion
products (e.g. polychlorinated di-
oxins and dibenzofurans)
Endocrine disrupting chemicals
(also referred to as oestrogenic
chemicals)
Particularly mercury, cadmium
and lead

MARINE POLLUTION
ers, increased surface run-off
and drainage from expand-
ing port areas, oil spills and
other contaminants from
shipping, and domestic and
Effects, challenges and approaches industrial effluent. Most of
the world’s wastes- around
Particularly caesium-137, stron-
Radionuclides
tium-90 and plutonium isotopes
Particularly persistent plastics and
Litter (Solid waste)
including lost fishing nets
ing fishing, impairment of marine habitats such as coral
quality for use of sea water reefs, seagrass meadows and

O
ceans cover ap- are hot spots of fisheries 20 billion tons per year- end and reduction of amenities". mangrove stands are facing
proximately 71% providing us with animal up in the sea, often without There are different types of enormous threats from ma-
of Earth's surface protein, and ocean-related any preliminary processing. toxic waste pollutants in rine pollution.
and around 90% of the recreation, which is rapidly The most widely accept- the marine environment
Earth's biosphere. As it is growing. Furthermore, most ed definition of marine pollu- that threaten marine life.
the principal component of the world´s megacities tion is the one devised by the Marine pollution includes a
Major sources of
of Earth's hydrosphere, the with more than 2.5 million United Nations Joint Group range of threats including marine pollution
world ocean is integral to inhabitants are in the coastal of Experts on the Scientific from land-based sources, The major known marine
all known life, forms part of area. Unfortunately, the rapid Aspects of Marine Pollution oil spills, untreated sewage, pollutants are summarized
the carbon cycle, and influ- increase in the number of (GESAMP). This states that heavy siltation, eutrophica- in Table 1. These pollutants
ences climate and weather people living near the coast marine pollution is the: - "In- tion (nutrient enrichment), depending on their con-
patterns. In addition, they and the uncontrolled devel- troduction by man, directly invasive species, persistent centrations or magnitude
or indirectly, of substances organic pollutants (POP’s), cause negative impacts on
or energy into the marine heavy metals from mine marine life.
environment (including tailings and other sources, In order to understand
P.K. Krishnakumar P.K. Asokan
Principal Scientist,
estuaries) resulting in such acidification, radioactive the impacts of the coastal
Professor, King Fahd
University of Petroleum Research Centre of deleterious effects as harm substances, marine litter, pollutants, individual consid-
& Minerals, Dammam Central Marine to living resources, hazards overfishing and destruc- eration of sources and types
& Former Principal Fisheries Research to human health, hindrance tion of coastal and marine of pollutants are needed
Scientist, CMFRI, Kochi Institute, Calicut
to marine activities includ- habitats. Especially, sensitive and therefore are briefly

730 Mathrubhumi Year Book Plus 2017 Mathrubhumi Year Book Plus 2017 731
 Essay Environmental Pollution
discussed below.
Sewage pollution
The most important pri-
mary feature of raw sewage
from a disposal point of view
is its 'oxygen demand'. The
oxygen demand is the
amount of oxygen that will
be consumed by bacteria as
they feed on and degrade
the sewage waste. If the
amount of oxygen required
is similar to, or greater than,
the amount of oxygen avail-
able then serious problems
may arise. Sewage generally
contains large amounts of
nitrogen and phosphates,
which can lead to phyto-
plankton blooms. Usually
excessive nutrient discharge
into the coastal waters will
result in eutrophication. Red
tides are caused by phyto-
plankton blooms, which
deplete oxygen in coastal
waters causing the mass
death of aquatic organisms.
In addition, the algae may
produce toxins, which cause
shellfish poisoning and pre-
sent a serious health hazard
to consumers. Red tides have
become a major concern in
several countries.
Trace metals
Among the critical pol-
lutants, trace metals and
pesticides are more common
in Asian waters. All natural
metals occur in seawater in
732 Mathrubhumi Year Book Plus 2017
It is estimated
that between
0.05 and 0.1
percent of the
sea's surface is
covered with an
oil film at any
one time.
greater or lesser amounts.
Some, such as iron, copper,
cobalt and zinc are essential
in small quantities for the
healthy growth of marine
organisms. Others, such as
mercury, lead, tin and cad-
mium have no known bio-
logical role. All metals are
toxic if present in excess but
the most important marine
contaminants are generally
considered to be amongst
the non-essential metals.
Pesticides and other
persistent organic
chemicals
Pesticide usage has
increased during the last
three decades not only in
the agriculture sector but
also in the vector control
programmes. Historically
the chemicals that have pro-
voked the greatest concern in
terms of their effects on the
marine environment are the
chlorinated hydrocarbons.
These chemicals include such
well known substances as
the pesticide, DDT and the
PCBs (used largely in electri-
cal apparatus).
Oil pollution
Oil pollution is a signifi-
cant problem along major
shipping routes and an
increasing number of acci-
dents have occurred in recent
years. The total global pro-
duction of crude oil is about
3 billion tonnes per year and
approximately half of this
is transported by sea. This
means that on any given day
there are approximately 8.25
million tonnes afloat around
the oceans. According to one
estimate, between 0.05 and
0.1 percent of the sea's sur-
face is covered with an oil
film at any one time. Recent,
studies show that in many
coastlines of the world, the
tar ball concentrations have
reached levels of kilograms
per meter area of beach.
Nearly 750 – 1,000 tonnes
of the tar-balls get deposited
along the west coast of India
every year.
Radioactivity
Radiation is another ma-
jor toxic pollution source in
the ocean but it is less well
understood. The oceans con-
tain appreciable amounts of
radioactive materials, which
derive from natural sources
within the atmosphere and
within the earth. Added to
this natural radioactivity is
a mixture of artificial radio-
active substances deriving
from atomic weapons test-
ing, other military activities
and peaceful uses of nuclear
energy. Atmospheric and
underwater tests of atomic
weapons are a major source
of radioactivity reaching the
oceans. Other sources are
now more important and
include waste discharges
from nuclear fuel repro-
cessing plants and nuclear
power generating reactors,
dumping of low level ra-
dioactive waste at sea and
accidental discharges such
as the unplanned return to
earth of nuclear powered
satellites and the loss of
nuclear powered.
Thermal pollution
Thermal pollution af-
fects the ocean in a nega-
tive way. An increase in
water temperature causes
a change (lowering) of
dissolved oxygen levels.
This disrupts the body of
Mathrubhumi Year Book Plus 2017
water's ecological balance,
resulting in the suffocation
of some plant and animal
species while encouraging
the overgrowth of others. The
overgrowth and suffocation
causes a cascade reaction
with other organisms that
are dependent on the ones
that don't survive and with
organisms that now have to
compete with the overgrow-
ing organisms.
Solid wastes
Solid waste takes the
form of plastics, metal,
paper, and glass thrown
or washed into the ocean
in mass quantities. Plastic,
because of its strength, dura-
bility and buoyancy makes up
the greater part of all debris
found in the ocean and is by
far the most harmful. Marine
mammals, birds, turtles, fish,
and crabs can often become
entangled in plastic loops,
strings and bands that can
entangle them, wound them
or prevent them from swim-
ming.
Marine environmental
impacts
Depending upon the du-
ration of pollutant discharge
into the marine environment
and the levels of pollutants
being discharged, two types
of effects, acute and chronic,
can be expected on the ma-
rine environment. The short
733
 Essay Environmental Pollution
term exposure to high con-
centrations of pollutants can
result in acute effects. Such
effects include mass mortal-
ity of marine organisms or
large scale damage to the
marine ecosystem. Acciden-
tal discharges like oil spill or
power plant blowouts usu-
ally cause such acute effects
on the marine environment.
Long and continuous expo-
sure to low concentrations
of pollutants can result in
chronic effects in marine
organisms including fishes.
The chronic effects include
retarded growth, outbreak of
diseases, failure in reproduc-
tion etc., in marine organ-
isms. Discharge of untreated
sewage and industrial efflu-
ents can cause chronic ef-
fects on marine biota.
Coastal marine en-
vironment all over the
world are under unrelent-
ing stress caused by urban
development, hazardous
or toxic substances, habi-
tat destruction and natural
toxins. Several environmen-
tal contaminants are being
discharged into the coastal
environment causing serious
threat to marine organisms
and posing public health risk.
Elevated concentrations of
contaminants including trace
metals, polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons (PAHs) and
polychlorinated biphenyls
(PCBs) have been reported in
734 Mathrubhumi Year Book Plus 2017
waters, sediment and biota
at several locations from
the coastal cities in Europe,
America, Asia, Africa and
Middle East. A significant
proportion of these chemi-
cals have the potential to
damage chromosomes or
DNA of marine organisms.
Eggs and early developmen-
tal stages of fishes and other
marine organisms are highly
vulnerable to the toxic ef-
fects of these genotoxic
pollutants.
Usually, marine organ-
isms including fishes accu-
mulate pollutants in their
body from the contaminated
seawater, sediments and
through the food chains and
this phenomenon is called
bioaccumulation. Bioaccu-
mulation of contaminants
in organisms from different
trophic levels leads to the
biomagnification of pollut-
ant. Biomagnification is a
phenomenon where levels
of toxic pollutants (such as
heavy metals and PCB's) in-
crease as we move up the
food chain. This can also
be called bioamplification.
This happens because pri-
mary producers only absorb
Several environmental contaminants
are being discharged into the coastal
environment causing serious threat to
marine organisms and posing public
health risk.
small amounts of pollutants.
Organisms tend not to get
rid of the pollutants within
them, so it accumulates over
the course of their life. When
one organism eats many or-
ganisms which each contain
some pollutants, the pollut-
ant accumulates even faster
within it. But, then herbivores
eat many primary producers,
so they accumulate a higher
concentration of pollutants.
Later, the consumers that eat
the affected herbivores ac-
cumulate even higher levels
of pollutants.
Human activities result-
ing in the chemical contami-
nation of the environment
have increased the potential
stresses on marine organ-
isms in most of their exposed
habitats. Even at very low
concentrations, toxic pol-
lutants can have drastic
effects on their physiology,
immunology and ecology,
and an increase in number
and extent of disease out-
breaks in marine organisms
was reported. Occurrences
of cancers and preneoplas-
tic conditions initiated and
promoted by pollutant ex-
posure have been observed
in marine taxa ranging from
invertebrates to marine
mammals. Diseases caused
by pathogenic agents and
liver histopathology associat-
ed with cancer were reported
in marine fishes for several
years. The occurrence of neo-
plasia (cancer like condition)
in flatfish liver has been re-
ported as a direct evidence
of contaminant exposure and
indicates historic exposure to
carcinogenic chemicals that
initiate and promote cancer-
like diseases. Neoplastic con-
ditions called disseminated
neoplasia or hemic neoplasia
have been reported world-
wide in 15 species of marine
bivalves, including four spe-
cies of oysters, six species
of clams and five species of
mussels.
The bioaccumulation of
marine pollutants in the tis-
sue of marine mammals due
to their position at the top of
the aquatic food chain and
their rather long life span is
well established. High tissue
concentrations of pollutants
were observed in marine
mammal tissue samples
from coastal regions asso-
ciated with dense human
populations. Elevated levels
of organic and inorganic pol-
lutants apparently resulted in
high prevalence of tumors in
marine mammal populations
from the St. Lawrence Estu-
ary in USA. Various types of
cancer like conditions were
reported in marine organ-
isms from urban-associated
coastal sites across the globe
and linkages have been es-
tablished between the pol-
lutant exposure and neoplas-
tic changes in most of the
cases. Thus, this evidence
demonstrates not only that
carcinogenic pollutants exert
Mathrubhumi Year Book Plus 2017
their effects on a multitude
of species but also that we
are also exposed, on a global
basis, to carcinogenic pollut-
ants via the diet and water.
Surveillance and monitoring
of fish and wildlife popula-
tions at all levels of biologi-
cal organization are essential
tools for documenting the
presence and severity of the
risks of modernity.
Marine pollution and
seafood
Even very low concen-
trations of these pollutants
detected in water or bottom
sediments may result in fish
or shellfish tissue concentra-
tions high enough to pose
health risks to seafood con-
sumers. Elevated concentra-
tions of pollutants, including
toxic trace metals (arsenic,
cadmium, nickel and lead),
PAHs and polychlorinated
735
 Essay Environmental Pollution
biphenyls, have been often Occurrences of cancers and preneoplastic
reported in seafood across
the globe. A significant pro-
conditions initiated and promoted
portion of the chemicals de- by pollutant exposure have been
tected in seafood samples observed in marine taxa ranging from
were carcinogenic and likely invertebrates to marine mammals.
to cause public health risk,
if transferred to the human of pollutants compared to
consumers. Although over small and short-lived fishes
1 billion people all over (Sardines, anchovies, herring,
the world rely on seafood sprats mackerel etc.). Hence,
as their primary source of some nutritionists are even
animal protein, seafood is recommending consumers to
vulnerable to contamination eat small fishes rather than
with persistent organic pol- big fishes. Several quality
lutants in concentrations that control measures and guide-
are somewhat higher than in lines are implemented across
other nutritious food items the world, including India,
like milk, meat and egg. Big to control and regulate the
and long-lived fishes (tuna, marketing and consumption
kingfish, swordfish etc.) of seafood contaminated
are likely to accumulate with toxic pollutants (see
high tissue concentrations Table 2). Consuming seafood
Table 2
Regulatory threshold for consumption of po-
tential toxic pollutants in seafood
commodities
Maximum Levels
(mg/Kg wet
Contaminant Seafood Item
weight)
USA EU
Molluscs and
Arsenic 86 - 24
crustaceans
Cadmium 3-4 0.05-1.0 Fish, molluscs
Lead 1.5-1.7 0.2-1.0 Fish, molluscs
Methyl mercury 1 1 All fish
PCB 2 0.000008 All fish
DDT, TDE 5 - All fish
Diedrin 0 - All fish
Dioxin - 0.000004 All fish
PAHs-Benzo[a]pyrene 1 0.01 All fish
736 Mathrubhumi Year Book Plus 2017
Table 3: General standards for the effluent for discharging into the ma-
rine coastal areas. Prepared based on the standard (Schedule 6)
given by Central Pollution Control Board(CPCB).
Standards Applicable to Marine
S. No. Major Parameters
and Coastal areas
100- for process wastewater 10%
1 Suspended solids (mg/l) above total suspended matter of
containing pollutant levels influent- for cooling water
above the prescribed limits 2 pH value 5.5 to 9.0
is harmful. shall not exceed 5oC above the receiv-
3 Temperature
ing water temperature
Marine pollution 4 Oil and grease mg/l Max 20
monitoring and control 5 Total residual chlorine mg/l Max. 1
United Nations (UN) has 6 Ammonical nitrogen (as N), mg/l Max. 50
taken several initiatives to 7 Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (as NH3) mg/l, Max. 100
control the use and exploita- 8 Free ammonia (as NH3) mg/l, Max. 5
tion of the oceans including 9 Biochemical Oxygen demand (3 days at 27oC) mg/l Max. 100
coastal seas through several
10 Chemical Oxygen Demand, mg/l, Max. 250
international conventions,
11 Arsenic (as As), mg/l, max. 0.2
treaties and agreements.
The UN Convention on the 12 Mercury (as Hg), mg/l, Max. 0.01
Law of the Sea (LOSC), which 13 Lead (as Pb) mg/l, Max. 2.0
took place from 1973 to 14 Cadmium (as Cd) mg/l, Max. 2.0
1982, lays down a compre- 15 Hexavalent Chromium (as Cr+6), mg/l Max. 1.0
hensive regime of law and 16 Total chromium (as Cr.) mg/l, Max. 2.0
order in the world's oceans 17 Copper (as Cu) mg/l, Max. 3.0
and seas establishing rules 18 Zinc (As Zn.) mg/l, Max. 15.0
governing all uses of the 19 Selenium (as Se.) mg/l, Max. 0.05
oceans and their resources.
20 Nickel (as Ni) mg/l, Max. 5.0
It enshrines the notion that
21 Manganese (as Mn) mg/l Max. 2.0
all problems of ocean space
are closely interrelated and 22 Iron (as Fe) mg/l Max. 3.0
need to be addressed as a 23 Vanadium (as V) mg/l Max. 0.2
Nitrate Nitrogen mg/l Max. 20.0
whole. The Convention on
the Prevention of Marine 25 Cyanide (as CN) mg/l Max. 0.2
Pollution by Dumping of 26 Fluoride (as F) mg/l Max. 15.0
Wastes and other Matter 27 Sulphide (as S) mg/l Max. 5.0
(London-Dumping Conven- 28 Phenoile compounds (as C6H5OH) mg/l, Max. 5.0
tion) was agreed in 1972. Radioactive materials:
Its purpose was to prevent 10-7
29 a) Alpha emitter micro curie/ml.
10-6
marine pollution caused by b) Beta emitter micro curie/ml.
the deliberate disposal of 90% survival of fish after 96 hours in
30 Bio-assay toxicity tests
wastes or other matter at 100% effluent
Mathrubhumi Year Book Plus 2017 737
 Essay Environmental Pollution
Mussel watch
Marine bivalves, such as clams, mussels
and oysters are widely used in urban ma-
rine habitats to monitor levels of chemical
contaminants. Mussels may hold one of the
main keys to the monitoring of ocean pol-
lutants. Because they concentrate chemicals
from their surroundings making the chemical
analyses simpler and less prone to error
than that for water, they stay in a single
location rather than swim around, and they
are fairly resistant to chemical contamination
and can be found living in areas where less
hardy species may be absent. Mussel watch
program is a study designed to systemati-
cally monitor environmental contaminants
in the soft tissue of bivalves (mussel, oysters
and clams) sampled from several locations
within a region, country, continents or part
of the globe. The main objective of the study
is to assess and compare the environmen-
tal contamination within and between the
study areas.
Blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) have
been used extensively, in USA, UK, Europe,
and elsewhere, as sentinel indicator spe-
cies for monitoring exposure to chemical
contaminants. The green mussels (Perna
viridis) have been used extensively in In-
dia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and some
other Asian countries for marine pollution
monitoring.
International Mussel Watch
The genesis of the International Mus-
sel Watch Project can easily be traced to
the 1975 Marine Pollution Bulletin edi-
torial where Professor Edward Goldberg
of Scripps Institution of Oceanography,
called for a global marine monitoring
program to serve as a "spring board for
738 Mathrubhumi Year Book Plus 2017
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Green mussel (Perna viridis) bed
action" (Goldberg, 1975). In his edito-
rial, Prof. Goldberg outlined a global
scale monitoring program based on the
sentinel organism concept that is capable
of detecting trends in concentrations of
several important marine contaminants.
Since the mid-1970's, scientists of several
countries have used bivalve filter-feeding
mollusks to monitor for selected chemical
contaminants in coastal marine waters.
Such contamination of coastal waters
might result in chemical changes that
are deleterious, over the long term, to
both the integrity of the coastal environ-
ment and to human health. Because of
their sedentary habits and their ability to
bio concentrate the pollutants of interest,
mussels and other bivalve species appear
to be appropriate sentinel organisms. This
approach to marine monitoring has been
successfully applied in several national
and regional programs in Europe, Taiwan,
India, Canada and the United States and
an extensive scientific literature has been
generated from these works.
The mussel watch approach has been
adopted as one of several coastal environ-
mental quality monitoring strategies by Unit-
ed Nations programs and the International
Mussel Watch Project was created to build
on this cumulative experience.
sea, including in areas be-
yond national jurisdiction.
The 1996 Protocol adopted
modifications and included
more stringent conditions.
The United Nations Envi-
ronment Programme (UNEP),
particularly through its Re-
gional Seas Programme, acts
to protect oceans and seas
and promote the environ-
mentally sound use of marine
resources. The International
Maritime Organization (IMO)
has developed and/or admin-
isters a wide range of trea-
ties, focusing, in particular,
on preventing the pollution
of the oceans and seas. These
include the landmark Inter-
national Convention for the
Prevention of Pollution from
Ships of 1973 (MARPOL), as
modified by a 1978 Proto-
col (MARPOL), and the 1954
International Convention for
the Prevention of Pollution of
the Sea by Oil (the “OILPOL
Convention”).
Apart from this, every
country, including India, has
its own marine environmen-
tal monitoring program to
understand and assess the
status of marine environ-
ment. For this purpose,
seawater, sediments and
fish tissue samples are be-
ing regularly collected and
analyzed to estimate the
concentrations of pollut-
ants. Bivalves such as mus-
sels have been suggested
Bivalves such as mussels have been
suggested as a suitable bio indicator or
sentinel organisms for monitoring
pollutant levels in coastal waters.
as a suitable bio indicator standards and guidelines for
or sentinel organisms for controlling the discharge or
monitoring pollutant levels dumping of pollutants into
in coastal waters due to the sea. It is also mandatory
their wide distribution, ses- to conduct Environmental
sile lifestyle, easy sampling, Impact Assessment (EIA)
tolerance to a considerable before starting construc-
range of salinity, resistance tion and/or operation of
to stress and high accumula- any industrial activities in
tion of a wide range of chem- the coastal areas. In India,
icals. A prominent example of the Central Pollution Con-
this is the National Oceanic trol Board (CPCB), a statu-
and Atmospheric Administra- tory organization under the
tion (NOAA) National Status Ministry of Environment
and Trends Mussel Watch and Forest, formulates en-
Program that started in vironmental standards and
1986. Now contaminant guidelines for protecting
monitoring programs similar the marine environment.
to mussel watch are being The general standards for
implemented throughout the effluent for discharging
the world. into the coastal marine en-
At present, the disposal vironment given by CPCB
or dumping of land-derived are listed in Table 3. It is
effluent, sewage and waste mandatory for every indus-
into the marine environ- try to treat their effluent to
ment are controlled and comply with the standards
regulated. Each country before discharging into the
has its own environmental coastal waters.  n
For further reading:
1. Carson, Rachel., 1962. Silent Spring. Boston, MA: Houghton
Mifflin.
2. Goldberg, E.D., 1975. The Mussel Watch - A first step in global
marine monitoring. Marine Pollution Bulletin., vol 6, no.7, pp.
111-111.
3. Sindermann, Carl J.,2005. Coastal Pollution: Effects on Living
Resources and Humans. CRC Press.  
4. Weis, Judith S.,2015. Marine Pollution: What Everyone Needs
to Know. Oxford University Press.
Mathrubhumi Year Book Plus 2017 739