JOURNALIST Emma Bryce has done some good work in her article “The Invisible Pollutants Harming the Ocean — and Us.” I wanted you to benefit from what she has to say, so I have condensed her considerable article down to a manageable read. I hope you will be inspired to digest her full work. In the meantime, give thought to this.
“In the chilly gloom of the Californian seabed, thousands of barrels ooze a banned chemical. Some date back to the 1940s when the first was dumped off the coast. In March this year, researchers found that the chemical, DDT, has barely broken down, remaining as toxic as it was 80 years ago.
“DDT is an insecticide that was widely used in agriculture until being banned — in the United States in 1972 and globally in 2001 — due to concerns about health impacts on wildlife and people. Its dense chemical bonds can resist degradation for decades.
“Plastic gets the limelight when it comes to ocean pollution, but chemicals pose “a major threat, one that we’re probably consistently underestimating,” says Alex Rogers, a marine ecologist at the University of Oxford, and science director with REV Ocean, a research non-profit working on solutions to ocean challenges. The problem goes far beyond legacy pollutants like those barrels of DDT. Today, around 350,000 synthetic chemicals are widely used in manufacturing. They are embedded in our everyday lives in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, cleaning products, electrical goods, textiles, furniture and other products. Ninety-five percent of all manufactured items now contain synthetic chemicals of some kind.
“Their diverse applications have revolutionised our lives, but they can also endanger marine life and indeed ecosystems. Reaching the sea by a variety of routes, whether dishwashing liquid down the drain, oily wastewater dumped by tankers at sea, or even chemical-infused toilet paper, their presence and potential impacts are far-reaching. Synthetic chemicals have now been found in the remote Arctic and deep ocean trenches.
“We actually know little about the impacts of most chemical pollutants on marine life. Understanding has been hampered by their mind-boggling diversity, complex makeup and variable properties. The growing sophistication of consumer goods means individual products are often manufactured using dozens of synthetic chemicals, making ocean impacts even trickier to untangle.
“The data on marine chemical pollutants is typically limited to the effects of certain chemicals on certain species. What they’re doing at ecosystem scales is generally unknown. An exception is synthetic nitrogen fertilisers. When washed off farmland into the sea, these nutrient-rich chemical mixtures can trigger algal blooms. When the algae dies, the bacteria that break it down consume most of the oxygen in the water column, choking out marine life. This causes die-offs of fish, dolphins and seals, leaving dead zones – some so large they can be seen from space. The recurring dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico, caused by nutrient pollution flowing out of the Mississippi River, spans about 10,000 square kilometres. It is thought to cost the US about $82 million a year in lost fisheries and tourism.
“Global estimates show that pollution in general — including by chemicals — caused up to nine million premature deaths in 2019. Marine pollution mainly enters our bodies through seafood. As Stegeman points out, three billion or so people rely on marine species for protein.
“Seafood may contain toxins from algal blooms, and potentially plastic-associated chemicals, according to a major recent report into the health impact of plastics. There’s also a risk of consuming mercury and PCBs that accumulate in fish. These chemicals can cause developmental problems in foetuses, and cardiovascular disease and dementia in adults, a recent literature review found. The review, co-authored by Stegeman, explored the connection between rising ocean pollution and human health. It also found that coal-burning is a major source of mercury pollution in the ocean, having been carried there by the wind. Marine chemical pollution may even enter our bodies if we inhale particles suspended in sea spray. “This is not just a story about the ocean but about us, because we are also exposed,” says Rogers.”
Emma Bryce has more to say on this subject. Do yourself the favor of reading her entire article.
BC Cook, PhD lived on Saipan and has taught history for 20 years. He currently resides on the mainland U.S.
BC Cook
