4 Pollution of the Sea by Ships
4.1 Discharging of Wastes on the High Seas
Oil spills irritate the tourist at the shore and send the bird ecologist to the barricades.
Unnoticed by the public, however, thousands of barrels with residue of chemical
production in various industrial nations have been dumped in the ocean. In 1968,
14,000 t of waste matter from pesticide plants on the Mississippi were dumped into
the Gulf of Mexico every month. This figure is just a fraction of the estimated total
of 330,000 t of pesticide waste matter that was dumped by the U.S.A. in various
ocean areas, together with 560,000 t of waste matter from oil refineries, 140,000 t
from the paper industry, 940,000 t of various waste matter and 2,7 million t of waste
acids (Fig. 35). Approximately 40 t of chlorinated hydrocarbons in this period were
dumped in the Atlantic every month by the Federal Republic of Germany. In the
period from 1963 to 1969, 38,000 barrels containing chlorinated hydrocarbons and
40,000 barrels containing cyanide compounds, arsenic, and other poisons from Great
Britain were dumped. Containers repeatedly turned up in fishermen's nets, not only
on the high seas but also in Dutch and German coastal water areas. This gives rise to
the speculation that some boat captains made quick money by throwing the drums
containing poison overboard shortly after leaving the harbor and saved themselves
the trip out to sea.
These barrels contained a variety of matter (Greve 1971; Berge et al. 1972), primarily
waste products from the production of PVC , polyvinylchloride. Often it is a mixture of
short-chain aliphatic hydrocarbons known as EDC tar. We are dealing with more than
80 different substances, 15 of which have known cancer-causing effects. As far as
amounts are concerned, dichlorethane (EDC) and trichlorethane predominate.
For 19]4, a 10 million t world production of vinylchloride was reckoned with. As
part of this production, around 400,000 t of EDC tar resulted as a by-product. The
north and central European industrial areas contribute approximately 75,000 t of
EDC tar to this figure (Jernelov et al. 1972).
In 1970, Scandinavian scientists analyzed the aliphatic chlorinated hydrocarbons that
occur in EDC tar in the seawater of the North Atlantic and the Norwegian Sea. The findings were alarming, because if analyzable concentrations are present in seawater, then
the total amount of waste that has been put into the ocean must be considerable.
EDC tar consists partly of the same vaporous chlorinated hydrocarbons with 1-2 carbon atoms which reach the ocean via the atmosphere (see Chap. 9). The concentrations measured in seawater in 1970, therefore, do not necessarily come solely from
chemical waste dumped in the ocean. At that time, however, the news was received
with justifiable alarm.
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4.1 Discharging of Wastes on the High Seas
Oil spills irritate the tourist at the shore and send the bird ecologist to the barricades.
Unnoticed by the public, however, thousands of barrels with residue of chemical
production in various industrial nations have been dumped in the ocean. In 1968,
14,000 t of waste matter from pesticide plants on the Mississippi were dumped into
the Gulf of Mexico every month. This figure is just a fraction of the estimated total
of 330,000 t of pesticide waste matter that was dumped by the U.S.A. in various
ocean areas, together with 560,000 t of waste matter from oil refineries, 140,000 t
from the paper industry, 940,000 t of various waste matter and 2,7 million t of waste
acids (Fig. 35). Approximately 40 t of chlorinated hydrocarbons in this period were
dumped in the Atlantic every month by the Federal Republic of Germany. In the
period from 1963 to 1969, 38,000 barrels containing chlorinated hydrocarbons and
40,000 barrels containing cyanide compounds, arsenic, and other poisons from Great
Britain were dumped. Containers repeatedly turned up in fishermen's nets, not only
on the high seas but also in Dutch and German coastal water areas. This gives rise to
the speculation that some boat captains made quick money by throwing the drums
containing poison overboard shortly after leaving the harbor and saved themselves
the trip out to sea.
These barrels contained a variety of matter (Greve 1971; Berge et al. 1972), primarily
waste products from the production of PVC , polyvinylchloride. Often it is a mixture of
short-chain aliphatic hydrocarbons known as EDC tar. We are dealing with more than
80 different substances, 15 of which have known cancer-causing effects. As far as
amounts are concerned, dichlorethane (EDC) and trichlorethane predominate.
For 19]4, a 10 million t world production of vinylchloride was reckoned with. As
part of this production, around 400,000 t of EDC tar resulted as a by-product. The
north and central European industrial areas contribute approximately 75,000 t of
EDC tar to this figure (Jernelov et al. 1972).
In 1970, Scandinavian scientists analyzed the aliphatic chlorinated hydrocarbons that
occur in EDC tar in the seawater of the North Atlantic and the Norwegian Sea. The findings were alarming, because if analyzable concentrations are present in seawater, then
the total amount of waste that has been put into the ocean must be considerable.
EDC tar consists partly of the same vaporous chlorinated hydrocarbons with 1-2 carbon atoms which reach the ocean via the atmosphere (see Chap. 9). The concentrations measured in seawater in 1970, therefore, do not necessarily come solely from
chemical waste dumped in the ocean. At that time, however, the news was received
with justifiable alarm.
53