Current Dangers and Future Impacts of Sea Pollution

United States Environmental Protection Agency Report

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Contents

Abstract ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 3

Ocean Pollution Description and Impacts …………………………………………………………………. 3

Impact on Plants and Animals ……………………………………………………………………….. 3

Impact on Humans ………………………………………………………………………………………… 4

Types of Ocean Pollution……………………………………………………………………………….. 5

Solutions to Ocean Pollution: Past, Current, and Future ……………………………………………. 6

Past and Current Actions ………………………………………………………………………………… 6

Stricter Regulations and Solutions to Change Future ………………………………………. 7

Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 7

References ……….………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 8

Figures

Figure 1 …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 4

Figure 2 …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 5

Figure 3 …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 6

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Abstract

The ocean is a huge body of water that covers about 71 percent of Earth’s surface and holds 97
percent of the world’s water. The average depth of the ocean is 12,200 feet. The one global
ocean is divided into five distinct regions: the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Artic and Southern
oceans. Only 20 percent of the ocean has been seen, explored, or mapped by humans leaving
the remaining 80 percent a mystery. Over the past 100 years, amazing discoveries have been
made about the ocean. Towering mountain ranges and deep canyons like those found on land
exist under the water, in fact most are even bigger. The ocean is home to around 226,000
known species, yet there could be double or triple the amount still undiscovered (National
Geographic Society, 2019).

Since human development began on land, the ocean became a shipping route and dumping
ground for the repercussions. The continuations of human activities deplete biodiversity and
disrupt the natural ecosystem in the sea. Due to lack of knowledge humans developed the land
in a way that exposed all waterways to plastic debris, chemical runoff, and crude oil. All this
pollution ends up in ocean. It wasn’t until the late 1960s that researchers began to study the
effects of ocean pollution (Rochman, 2020). Since then, technology has increased tremendously
and up to date studies reveal severe, irreversible damage that is projected to spiral out of
control within the next 100 years. The effects of ocean pollution that humans will face in the
future are life-threatening. Humans will now suffer the consequences of an over polluted ocean
unless changes can be quickly made to halt the damages.

The solution to this problem is to regulate what is entering the ocean globally. Protective
agencies around the world must enforce strict regulations to control what is being dumped into
the ocean and in what quantities. It is crucial that people and ocean can recover from a natural
disaster. It is essential the debris from land do not get pushed into the ocean for the marine
ecosystem to suffer.

Ocean Pollution Description and Impacts

Oil and chemical spills and plastic are two pollutants that have the most fatal impact on the
marine life. Oil spills harm the living plants and animals by exposing these creatures to
poisoning conditions. Externally, oil destroys the insulating ability of fur-bearing mammals and
water repellency of a bird’s feathers thus risking hypothermia because of disturbance in natural
temperature regulation. When dolphins and whales surface for air, they inhale oil which affect
lung function, immune function, and reproduction. When adult fish are exposed to oil, it can
result in fatal conditions like enlarged livers, reduced growth, and changes in heart and
respiration rates (How Oil Spills Affect Fish and Whales, 2021).

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Of the 300 million tons of plastic produced yearly, about 14 million tons end up in the ocean.
The most abundant type of liter found is the ocean is plastic. Plastic pollution threats the health
and extinction of many marine species. Turtles, fish, seabirds, and marine mammals become
entangled in large amounts of plastic debris, causing suffocation or imparity of fins and wings.
Under the sun, plastic breaks up into smaller pieces, called microplastics, which marine life
inject mistaking it for food which can cause starvation because their stomach feels full (Reddy,
2018. As pictured in Figure 1, a deceased bird was washed onto the shore. After researchers
investigated the cause of death, they found the digestive tract to be filled with plastic causing
death.

Figure 1: A dead bird found in the Pacific Ocean with plastic debris in its stomach (U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, 2019)

Impact on Humans

Human health is also negatively impact by ocean pollution. The ocean stores 97% of Earth’s
water supply and marine life produces 70% of the oxygen humans breathe. Additionally, the
ocean absorbs 30% of the carbon emissions that human activity produces (Moore, 2021.)
Nonpoint and point source pollution is slowly killing the underwater marine life. In time,
cessation of these oxygen producing plants will result in lack of atmospheric oxygen on a
globally scale. Without the oxygen, mass mortality of animals and humans would occur.

Over the last 15 years, the presence of microplastic has multiplied 60 times. Figure 2 reveals the
size of microplastics in comparison to human fingers. Although these particles are very small,

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they have serious consequences. The exposure to microplastics have been linked to reduced
fertility, birth defects, cancer, and psychological illnesses (Moore, 2021). Therefore, increased
presence of microplastics increases the risk of developing life-threatening diseases that
threaten humans globally. Researchers at Arizona State University developed a new technique
that detects the presence of microplastics in human tissues. The results of this study showed
that microplastics were detectable in 100% of the tissues sampled.

Figure 2: Microplastics found deep in lungs and in the bloodstream of humans. (Bush, 2022)

Types of Ocean Pollution

The two main types of ocean pollution are nonpoint source pollution and point source
pollution. Nonpoint source pollution is the biggest source of pollution which occurs because of
runoff. The sources of nonpoint pollution like trash and plastic, livestock ranches, farms,
vehicles, septic tanks, and harvest areas enter the waterways along the coastline and far inland
after heavy rain washes it off the surrounding land and streets and into streams and rivers. The
matter travels along waterways and ultimately ends up being washed into the ocean, as shown
in Figure 3. It is difficult to account for the amount of pollutants washed up in one area, but
when you add up all of the wash off from streets, fields, and land all over the world, it equals a
major problem for the ocean.

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 Figure 3: Exposed soil eroded during rainstorms with runoff flowing to sea (National Ocean Service, 2020)

Point source pollution is a contaminant that comes from a single source that is easily identified.
Although point source pollution events occur less frequently, they have much larger immediate
impacts when they do (NOAA 2020). For example, factories, power plants, and oil spills are a
common pollutant of point source pollution.

Solutions to Ocean Pollution: Past, Current, and Future

The framework of implementing laws and regulations to protect the ocean began in 1972 when
President Nixon signed The Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act which is
commonly referred to as the Ocean Dumping Act. By declaring this policy, the regulation of
dumping materials that would affect human health, welfare or amenities, or the marine
environment is controlled by the United State Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Moving
forward EPA was responsible for issuing dumping permits for material other than dredged
material into the ocean. Dredging is the removal of silt, clay, and miscellaneous materials from
underwater surfaces. Therefore, the dredged material, and other materials like fish waste is

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disposed back into the ocean at appropriate disposal sites regulated by EPA (Ocean Dumping,
2021). These sites regulate the times, quantity, and characteristics of material that are
permitted to dump. In addition, to minimize or avoid the potential impacts to the marine
environment, EPA establishes disposal controls, conditions, and requirements.

EPA’s Ocean Managements Program work closely with other federal, state, and local agencies
to combat pollution issues that arise during natural disasters and large-scale emergencies. EPA
is currently working to address pollution globally through international policy engagement and
international actions by developing an International Marine Litter Toolbox that includes guides
and tactics to use to address marine litter and improve waste management.

Stricter Regulations and Solutions to Change Future

Moving forward global actors like EPA need to be present in every country. These organizations
need to adapt a version of Ocean Management Program to enforce appropriate regulations to
combat the current state of the ocean. Due to the increase in the amount that of pollutants
being washed and dumped into the ocean yearly, the precautions and regulations need to
reflect the crisis. For example, the amounts, times, and quantity of waste being dumped should
be cut down significantly because the rate at which it is going will not sustain much longer.

Additionally, global support can help low-income countries that suffer the same consequences
but lack the resources and education to fix the problem of ocean pollution. To combat nonpoint
source pollution, implication of plastic free alternatives for water bottles and food packaging
will decrease the amount of plastic that ends up in the ocean killing marine life and threatening
human health. If the rate of pollution continues, there will be more plastic in the ocean than
plants and animals. By then, the damage created in the ocean will be unsalvageable. In
addition, dams with filtration devices need to be constructed to cut back on the amount of
waste that enters through the major waterways. The repercussions humans and marine life are
facing needs to be global knowledge to education civilians on the severity of this crisis.

Conclusion

The pollution of oceans poses serious threats to their ecosystems and the plant and animal
species that inhabit in, but also the current and future generations of humans. Human
development has already caused irreversible damage that has put the world at risk. All in all,
the ocean is running out of breath and will result in the extinction of the human species. The
ocean is one, huge mass of water that is shared with the entire world. To prevent the ultimate
extinction of humankind, actions need to be taken to preserve the ocean before the effects are
fatal.

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References
How Oil Spills Affect Fish and Whales | response.restoration.noaa.gov. (2021, May 4). Office

Response and Restoration. https://response.restoration.noaa.gov/oil-and-chemical-

spills/oil-spills/how-oil-spills-affect-fish-and-whales.html

Learn about Ocean Dumping. (2021, June 10). US EPA.

https://www.epa.gov/ocean-dumping/learn-about-ocean-dumping#MPRSA

Moore, S. (2021, July 29). Ocean Pollution and Human Health. News-Medical.Net.

https://www.news-medical.net/health/Ocean-Pollution-and-Human-Health.aspx

National Geographic Society. (2019, September 5). Ocean.

https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/ocean/

Reddy, Simon. (2018, September 24). Plastic Pollution Affects Sea Life Throughout the Ocean.

The Pew Charitable Trusts.

https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2018/09/24/plastic-

pollution-affects-sea-life-throughout-the-ocean

Rochman, Chelsea. (2020, December 10). The Story of Plastic Pollution: From the Distant Ocean

Gyres to the Global Policy Stage | Oceanography. Oceanography.

https://tos.org/oceanography/article/the-story-of-plastic-pollution-from-the-distant-
ocean-gyres-to-the-global-policy-stage

What is the biggest source of pollution in the ocean? (2020, April 1). NOAA.

https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/pollution.html