Ocean Dumping

Ocean disposal of society's waste got its start indirectly long before the Agricultural Age when nearby streams, lakes, and estuaries were useful as waste repositories. As civilization moved to the coastal zone and navigation began in earnest, the oceans were viewed as even a larger waste repository. Early civilizations were located adjacent to bodies of water for sources of food, irrigation, drinking water, transportation, and a place to dispose of unnecessary items. Historically, the disposal of wastes into water by humans was universally practiced. It was a cheap and convenient way to rid society of food wastes (e.g., cleaned carcasses, shells, etc.), trash, mining wastes, and human wastes (or sewage). The advent of the Industrial Age brought with it the new problem of chemical wastes and by-products: These were also commonly disposed of in the water.

Early dumping started in rivers, lakes, and estuaries, whereas ocean dumping was simply not used because of the distance and difficulty in transporting waste materials. The wastes from ships, however, were simply dumped directly into the ocean. As civilization developed at river deltas and in estuaries adjacent to the ocean, and these areas soon began to display the effects of dumping, disposal in the ocean became a popular alternative. Over the past 150 years, all types of wastes have been ocean dumped. These include sewage (treated and untreated), industrial waste, military wastes (munitions and chemicals), entire ships, trash, garbage, dredged material, construction debris, and radioactive wastes (both high- and low-level). It is important to note that significant amount of wastes enter the ocean through river, atmospheric, and pipeline discharge; construction; offshore mining; oil and gas exploration; and shipboard waste disposal. Unfortunately, the ocean has become the ultimate dumping ground for civilization.

It has been recognized over the past fifty years that the earth's oceans are under serious threat from these wastes and their "witches' brew" of chemicals and nonbiodegradable components. Society has also come to understand that its oceans are under serious threat from overfishing, mineral exploration, and coastal construction activities. The detrimental effects of ocean dumping are physically visible at trashed beaches, where dead fish and mammals entangled in plastic products may sometimes be observed. They are additionally reflected in the significant toxic chemical concentrations in fish and other sea life. The accumulations of some toxins, especially mercury, in the bodies of sea life have resulted in some harvestable seafood unfit for human consumption. Seriously affected areas include commercial and recreational fishing, beaches, resorts, human health, and other pleasurable uses of the sea. During the 1960s numerous groups (global, regional, governmental, and environmental) began to report on the detrimental impact of waste disposal on the ocean. Prior to this time, few regulatory (or legal) actions occurred to control or prevent these dumping activities.

Early U.S. Legislation

Late in the nineteenth century, the U.S. Congress enacted Section 10 of the River and Harbor Act of 1890, prohibiting any obstruction to the navigation of U.S. waters. The authority to implement the act through a regulatory permit program was given to the secretary of the army acting through the chief of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In the late 1960s the corps enlarged the scope of its review of permit applications to include fish and wildlife, conservation, pollution, esthetics, ecology, and matters of general public interest. In addition, the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) required the review of policy issues pertinent to the public interest and an environmental impact statement on activities that might significantly affect the quality of the environment.

In 1972 the U.S. Congress passed the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act (Ocean Dumping Act or ODA) and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act amendments (Clean Water Act or CWA) that set a global standard for managing environmental restoration and protection, for maintaining the environment within acceptable standards, for prohibiting the disposal of waste materials into the ocean, and for regulating the discharge of wastes through pipelines into the ocean.

With the enactment of these laws, the corps's regulatory program became quite complex. The goal of the CWA is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters, with the corps responsible for regulating the discharge of dredged material into inland and coastal waters. The ODA regards oceans in a somewhat similar manner, requiring the review of all proposed operations involving the transportation or disposal of waste materials and their potential environmental impact. The corps also manages the ocean dumping permit program. Like the CWA, the ODA is concerned with the unregulated dumping of materials into ocean waters that endanger human health and welfare, the marine environment, and the earth's ecological systems, and that may have dire economic consequences. The corps implements these programs in full partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and is subject to their oversight.

International recognition of the need to regulate ocean disposal from land-based sources on a global basis was the result of the UN Conference on the Human Environment in June 1972 and the Inter-Governmental Conference on the Convention of the Dumping of Wastes at Sea in November 1972. These conferences resulted in a treaty entitled Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter—London Convention 1972 (LC-72). The LC-72 came into effect in 1975 and currently has approximately eighty member nations. Another treaty addressing the issue of wastes disposed of from vessels, the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973 (MARPOL), was adopted

in 1973. Countries signing MARPOL agree to enforce bans on dumping oil and noxious liquids into the ocean from ships, but the disposal of hazardous substances, sewage, and plastics remains optional. There are dozens of other international agreements dealing with ocean pollution, but the LC-72 and MARPOL are the most significant as far as dumping is concerned. The United States is an active member of both of these treaties.

The LC-72 and domestic ODA are similar in structure and requirements, with the U.S. regulation being more stringent. The dumping of industrial wastes, radioactive wastes, munitions (chemical or biological), sewage, and incineration at sea are directly prohibited. Moreover, the ocean disposal of other waste materials containing greater than trace amounts of certain chemicals (i.e., mercury, cadmium, petroleum hydrocarbons, chlorinated chemicals, and nondegradable plastics) is strictly prohibited. Allowed under strictly regulated conditions are the ocean disposal of dredged material (harbor sediments), geologic material, and some fish waste; burial at sea; and ship disposal.

The corps and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) implement the LC-72 and ODA in the United States. The Corps issues its permits after careful assessment using environmental criteria developed by the EPA. About 350 million tons of sediments are dredged annually in U.S. waters for the purpose of navigation for trade and national defense; approximately 20 percent of this total is disposed of in formally designated sites in ocean waters. A small portion of sediments from major harbor areas (about seven to ten percent of the national total) is sufficiently contaminated that ocean placement is not allowed, and the sediment must be contained at regulated land sites. Proposed ocean disposal is assessed through the use of an effectsbased approach, which evaluates the dredged material as a complex substance that may contain a wide variety of contaminants. The assessment will identify those sediments that may be detrimental to ocean biota and human health. The effects-based approach uses bioassay test organisms to integrate the potential effects of all the contaminants present in a combined impact assessment. This is done through the use of bioassays for acute toxicity and an estimate of contaminants' bioaccumulation potential. An assessment is also made on the potential of sediment contamination to impact water quality. A decision is then based on the suitability of a material for unrestricted or restricted ocean disposal, or not. For example, a dredged sediment from a contaminated portion of a harbor can be prohibited from ocean disposal and must be placed in a land containment facility.

In highly industrialized harbors such as those in New York or New Jersey, dredging and the disposal of dredged material are often controversial. Ocean placement is not allowed except in the case of the cleanest sediments and adding to the controversy, land disposal locations are very limited and very expensive. In contrast, world trade and shipping, which depend on navigation dredging for deep channels, are a vital component of regional and national economies. The long-term solution to contaminated sediments will depend on waste control from land sources and the cleanup of highly contaminated sediments that continue to impact the navigation channel.

The ocean placement of suitable dredged material or sediments at carefully selected ocean sites may be environmentally safe in relation to other alternatives. It might even be beneficial to the ocean through proper management. Eroding beaches, for instance, often receive clean dredged sand as a routine part of environmental improvement programs. Dredged material comprises 95 percent or more of all ocean disposal on a global basis. As navigable waterways and their role in world trade and defense continue to be important components of the economic growth and stability of coastal nations, the environmentally sound disposal of suitable dredged materials into the ocean will remain a necessary alternative. Moreover, the beneficial uses of these dredged sediments (when they are not contaminated with pollutants) for beach replenishment, wetlands, construction, aquatic and upland habitat improvement, and as construction materials will remain the highest priority in sediment and ocean disposal management.

see also Bioaccumulation; Clean Water Act; Dredging; Ocean Dumping Ban Act; Rivers and Harbors Appropriations Act; Water Pollution; Water Pollution: Marine.

Bibliography

committee on public works, u.s. house of representatives. (1973). laws of the united states relating to water pollution control and environmental quality, 93-1. washington, d.c.: u.s. government printing office.

engler, r.m. (1980). "prediction of pollution potential through geochemical and biological procedures: development of guidelines and criteria for the discharge of dredged and fill material." in contaminants and sediments, edited by r.a. baker. ann arbor, mi: ann arbor science publications.

engler, r.m. (1990). "managing dredged materials." oceanus 33(2):63–69.

engler, r.m.; saunders, l.; and wright, thomas. (1991). "environmental effects of aquatic disposal of dredged material." environmental professional 13:317–325.

engler, r.m.; saunders, l.; and wright, t. (1991). "the nature of dredged material." environmental professional 13:313–316.

huber, m.e., et al. (1999). "oceans at risk." marine pollution bulletin 38(6):435–438.

international maritime organization. (1991). the london dumping convention: the first decade and beyond. london.

nauke, m. (1985). "disposal at sea of dredged material under the london convention." dredging and port construction may:9–16.

internet resources

greenpeace. available from http://www.greenpeace.org/~odumping.

london convention of 1972. available from http://www.londonconvention.org/london_convention.htm.

Robert M. Engler

Ocean dumping

Ocean dumping is internationally defined as "any deliberate disposal at sea of wastes or other matter from vessels, aircraft, platforms, or other man-made structures at sea, and any deliberate disposal at sea of vessels, aircraft, platforms, or other man-made structures at sea." The discharge of sewage and other effluents from a pipeline and the discharge of waste incidental to, or derived from the normal operations of, ships are not considered ocean dumping. Wastes have been dumped into the ocean for thousands of years. Fish and fish processing wastes, rubbish, industrial wastes, sewage sludge , dredged material, radioactive waste , pharmaceutical wastes, drilling fluids, munitions, coal wastes, cryolite, ocean incineration wastes, and wastes from ocean mining have all been dumped at sea. Ocean dumping has historically been more economically attractive, when compared with other land-based waste management options.

The 1972 Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter , commonly called the London Convention, came into force in 1975 to control ocean dumping activities. The framework of the London Convention includes a black list of materials that may not be dumped at sea under any circumstances (including radioactive and industrial wastes), a grey list of materials considered less harmful that may be dumped after a special permit is obtained, and criteria that countries must consider before issuing an ocean dumping permit. These criteria require the consideration of the effects dumping activities can have on marine life, amenities, and other uses of the ocean, and encompass factors related to disposal operations, waste characteristics, attributes of the site, and availability of land-based alternatives. Most ocean dumping permits (90–85%) reported by parties to the London Convention are for dredged material. Currently only three parties to the London Convention dump sewage sludge at sea. Other categories of wastes that are permitted for ocean dumping include inert, geological materials, vessels, and fish wastes. The International Maritime Organization is responsible for administrative activities related to the London Convention, and it facilitates cooperation among the countries party to the Convention. As of 2001, 78 countries had ratified the Convention.

In the early 1990s, the parties to the London Convention began a comprehensive review of the treaty. This resulted in the adoption of the 1996 Protocol to the London Convention. The purpose of the Protocol is similar to that of the Convention, but the Protocol is more restrictive: application of a "precautionary approach" is included as a general obligation; a "reverse list" approach is adopted; incineration of wastes at sea is prohibited; and export of wastes for the purpose of dumping or incineration at sea is prohibited. Under the reverse list approach, dumping is prohibited unless explicitly permitted, and only seven categories of materials may be considered for dumping: dredge material; sewage sludge; fish waste; vessels and platforms; inert, inorganic geological material; organic material of natural origin; and bulky items of unharmful materials when produced at locations with no other disposal options. The Protocol will enter into force after 26 states ratify it (15 of which are party to the London Convention). So far, 16 countries have ratified it (13 of which are party to the London Convention).

Ocean dumping has been used as a method for municipal waste disposal in the United States for about 80 years, and even longer for dredged material. The law to regulate ocean dumping in the United States is the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972. This Act, also known as the Ocean Dumping Act, banned the disposal of radiological, chemical, and biological warfare agents, high-level radioactive waste, and medial waste. It requires a permit for the ocean dumping of any other materials. Such a permit can only be issued where it is determined that the dumping will not unreasonably degrade or endanger human health, welfare, or amenities, or the marine environment, ecological systems, or economic potentialities. Furthermore, all permits require notice and opportunity for public comment. EPA was directed to establish criteria for reviewing and evaluating ocean dumping permit applications that consider the effect of, and need for, the dumping. The Ocean Dumping Act has been revised by the United States Congress in the years since its enactment. In 1974, Congress amended this Act to conform with the London Convention. In 1977, the Act was amended to incorporate a ban by 1982 on ocean dumping of wastes that may unreasonably degrade the marine environment . As a result of this ban, approximately 150 permittees dumping sewage sludge and industrial waste stopped ocean dumping of these materials. In 1983, the law was amended to make any dumping of low-level radioactive waste require specific approval by Congress. In 1988, the

Ocean Dumping Ban Act was passed to prohibit ocean dumping of all sewage sludge and industrial waste by 1992. Virtually all material ocean dumped in the United States today is dredged material. Other materials include fish wastes, human remains, and vessels.

Physical properties of wastes, such as density, and its chemical composition affect the dispersal, and settling of the wastes dumped at sea. Many contaminants such as metals found in trace amounts in natural materials are enriched in wastes. After material is dumped at sea, there is usually initial, rapid dispersion of the waste. For example, some wastes are dumped from a moving vessel, with dilution rates of 1,000 to 100,000 from the ship's wake. As the wake subsides, naturally occurring turbulence and currents further disperse wastes eventually to nondetectable background levels in water in a matter of hours to days, depending on the type of wastes and physical oceanic processes. Dilution is greater if the material is released slower and in smaller amounts, with dispersal rates decreasing over time. Wastes, such as dredged material, that are much denser than the surrounding seawater sink rapidly. Less dense waste sinks more slowly, depending on the type of waste and physical processes of the dumpsite. As sinking waste particles reach seawater of equal density, they begin to spread horizontally, with individual particles slowly settling to the sea bottom. The accumulation of the waste on the sea floor varies with the location and characteristics of the dumpsite. Quiescent waters with little tidal and wave action in enclosed shallow environments have more waste accumulate on the bottom in the general vicinity of the dumpsite. Wastes dumped in more open, well-mixed ocean waters are transported away from the dumpsite by currents and can disperse over a very large area, as much as several hundred square kilometers.

The physical and chemical properties of wastes change after the material has been dumped into the ocean. As wastes mix with seawater, acid-base neutralization, dissolution or precipitation of waste solids, particle adsorption and desorption, volatilization at the sea surface, and changes in the oxidation state may occur. For example, when acid-iron waste is dumped at sea, the buffering capacity of seawater rapidly neutralizes the waste. Hydrous iron oxide precipitates are formed as the iron reacts with seawater and changes from a dissolved to a solid form.

The fraction of the waste that settles to the bottom is further changed as it undergoes geochemical and biological processes. Some of the elements of the waste may be mobilized in organic-rich sediment ; however, if sulfide ions are present, metals in waste may be immobilized by precipitation of metal sulfides. Organisms living on the sea floor may ingest waste particles, or mix waste deeper in the sediment by burrowing activities. Microorganisms decompose organic waste , potentially recycling elements from the waste before it becomes part of the sea floor sediments. Generally sediment-related processes will act on waste particles over a longer time scale than hydrologic processes in the water column.

The effects of dumping on the ocean are difficult to measure and depend on complex interactions of factors including type, quantity, and physical and chemical properties of the wastes; method and rate of dumping; toxicity to the biotic community ; and numerous site-specific characteristics, such as water depth, currents (turbulence), water column density structure, and sediment type. Many studies have found that the effects of ocean dumping on the water column are usually temporary and that the ocean floor receives the most impact. Impacts from dumping dredged material are usually limited to the dumpsite. Burial of some benthic organisms (organisms living at or near the sea floor) may occur; however, burrowing organisms may be able to move vertically through the deposited material and fishes typically leave the area. Seagrasses, coral reefs, and oyster beds may never recover after dredged material is dumped on them. There also can be topographic changes to the sea floor.

See also Dredging

[Marci L. Bortman Ph.D. ]

RESOURCES

OTHER

ArmyCorps of Engineers Ocean Disposal Database. [cited July 2002]. <http://ered1.wes.army.mil/ODD>.

"EPA's Ocean Dumping and Dredged Material Management." EPA Web Site. July 16, 2002 [cited July 2002]. <http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/regulatory/dumpdredged/dumpdredged.html>.

London Convention. [cited July 2002]. <http://www.londonconvention.org>.

OCEAN DUMPING

Pollution of the open seas by human activities has become a serious problem. Ocean dumping is the dumping or placing of materials in designated places in the ocean, often on the continental shelf. A wide range of materials is involved, including garbage, construction and demolition debris, sewage sludge, dredge material, and waste chemicals. In some cases, ocean dumping is regulated and controlled, while some dumping occurs haphazardly by ships and tankers at sea, or illegally within coastal waters. Incineration at sea of organic wastes, with subsequent dumping, has been allowed as a viable disposal process, both in the United States and in Europe.

An important, but little recognized source of ocean dumping is the elimination of bilge water from tankers carrying oil and other products. Bilge water can contain a number of toxic chemicals, as well as biological agents that can affect marine ecosystems and marine organisms, some of which are subsequently consumed by humans. Dumping of radioactive wastes and soil from contaminated nuclear defense sites has periodically been suggested as a viable disposal method, and canisters of nerve gas have been disposed of at sea. In addition to permitted ocean dumping, there is always the possibility of collisions, groundings, and accidents that result in de facto ocean dumping, often of materials not otherwise allowed.

At one time, drums containing hazardous waste were dumped, but the disintegration of canisters caused sufficient concern to halt this process. Some of the drums containing hazardous chemicals were dumped in shallow seas, such as the North Sea, that are intensely fished, creating a potential risk to humans from the consumption of contaminated fish and shellfish.

A number of U.S. federal laws apply to at-sea incineration, including the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Toxic Substances Control Act, Water Pollution Prevention and Control Act, Air Pollution Prevention and Control Act, Dangerous Cargo Act, Ports and Waterways Safety Act, Deep Water Ports Act, and the Ocean Dumping Act. Most states also have a number of laws and regulations to control operations.

There are three main direct public health risks from ocean dumping: (1) occupational accidents, injuries, and exposures; (2) exposure of the public to hazardous or toxic materials washed up on beaches; and (3) human consumption of marine organisms that have been contaminated by ocean disposal. Periodically, medical and other wastes from both legal and illegal dumping have washed up on beaches, resulting in exposure to beachgoers and, in some cases, the closure of beaches until the wastes could be removed. Consumption of fish and shellfish contaminated from radioactive wastes may pose a serious problem worldwide because of nuclear waste dumping in the oceans.

One of the main sources of toxic chemicals off the Atlantic coast of the United States has been ocean-dumped municipal sewage sludge. In addition to biologic agents, sludge contains toxic residues. These same areas are fished heavily, both commercially and recreationally. From a public health perspective, pregnant women, women about to become pregnant, and young children are most at risk from the consumption of contaminated fish and shellfish.

Joanna Burger

(see also: Ambient Water Quality; Medical Waste; Municipal Solid Waste; Oil Spills; Sewage System; Wastewater Treatment; Water Quality )

Bibliography

Goyal, S. M.; Adams, W. N.; O'Malley, M. L.; and Lear, D. W. (1984). "Human Pathogenic Viruses at Sewage Sludge Disposal Sites in the Mid-Atlantic Region." Applied Environmental Microbiology 48:758–763.

Kennish, M. J. (1991). Ecology of Estuaries: Anthropogenic Effects. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

Lipton, J., and Gillett, J. W. (1991). "Uncertainty in Ocean-Dumping Health Risks: Influence of Bioconcentration, Commercial Fish Landings and Seafood Consumption." Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 10:967–976.

Nielsen, S. P.; Iosipe, M.; and Strand, P. (1997). "Collective Dose to Man from Dumping of Radioactive Waste in the Seas." Science of the Total Environment 202:136–146.

Ocean Dumping Ban Act

The Ocean Dumping Ban Act, enacted in 1988, significantly amended portions of the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 and banned ocean dumping of municipal sewage sludge and industrial waste (with limited exceptions) by phased target dates. The disposal of sewage sludge in waters off New York City was a major motivation for its enactment. Eligible municipalities previously had been allowed to dispose of sewage sludge beyond the so-called 106-mile ocean waste dumpsite, but are now precluded from doing so. Ocean disposal of sewage sludge and industrial waste was totally banned after 1991. Narrow exceptions were created for certain Army Corps of Engineers dredge materials that are occasionally deposited offshore.

During the interim period from 1989, after the amendments were enacted, to 1991, when the total ban took effect, limited sewage and industrial waste dumping was allowed for businesses dumping under already existing permits. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was directed to report to Congress on an annual basis regarding the effectiveness of compliance agreements, and the progress made by permitted parties toward developing alternative systems for managing sewage sludge and industrial waste. EPA also had to report on its own efforts in identifying and implementing alternative disposal systems and general progress toward the congressional goal of terminating the ocean dumping of sewage sludge and industrial waste. EPA has interpreted these 1988 amendments to include the ocean incineration of wastes so that they must be regulated in the same manner as ocean disposal.

see also Biosolids; Laws and Regulations, International; Medical Waste; Ocean Dumping.

internet resource

u.s. environmental protection agency. "ocean dumping ban act of 1988." available from http://www.epa.gov/history.

Kevin Anthony Reilly