MARINE POLLUTION

Marine Pollution

• The presence of undesirable materials in the ocean environment directly or indirectly by humans that adversely effect biological resources and human beings is called as marine pollution

Causes of Marine Pollution:• Oil and petroleum spillage:• Toxic chemicals• Hazardous waste• Raw Sewage• Thermal pollution: A form of marine pollution

Oil And Petroleum Spillage:

• Leakage of oil from oil tankers, accidental discharge in the sea and losses during off shore exploration

• South Africa is greatly threatened by marine pollution as it lies on one of the world’s busiest shipping routes

• Toxic Chemicals: Apart from heavy metals, substances such as petrol, grease, oil, pesticides, herbicides and solvents such as paint strippers

• Hazardous Waste: Wastes discharged through nuclear testing, nuclear power plants, defense explosions are categorised as hazardous waste

Effects of Marine Pollution

• Reduction in photosynthesis rate in marine pollution: High pollutant concentration makes the water turbid, decreasing the penetration of light

• Decline in volume of dissolved oxygen effecting the survival of marine organisms: decrease in photosynthesis rate decreases DO.

• Toxicity of water by heavy metals such as mercury, arsenic, cadmium etc

• Consumption of marine food collected from polluted water caused various diseases such as viral hepatitis, cholera,t yphoid and digestive problems

Control of Marine Pollution• By using oleic and stearic acid which helps in concentrating and

removing oil pollution: The bacterium Pseudomonas putida known as super bug effectively eliminates oil spills. Ships should be maintained properly and serviced regularly to prevent oil leakage.

• By recycling pollutants of solid waste such as plastic, glass,metal,papers etc

• By establishing marine protected areas, • By ensuring maintenance and proper security of ships• Disposal of poisonous substances in the sea must be stopped by

enforcing strict laws.