Pollution of the waters of the world's oceans with inorganic and organic substances. The problem of ocean pollution (2)

Skorodumova O.A.

Introduction.

Our planet could well be called Oceania, since the area occupied by water is 2.5 times larger than the land area. Ocean waters cover almost 3/4 of the surface of the globe with a layer about 4000 m thick, making up 97% of the hydrosphere, while land waters contain only 1%, and only 2% is locked in glaciers. The world ocean, being the totality of all the seas and oceans of the Earth, has a huge impact on the life of the planet. The huge mass of ocean waters forms the planet’s climate and serves as a source of precipitation. More than half of the oxygen comes from it, and it also regulates the carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere, since it is able to absorb its excess. At the bottom of the World Ocean, the accumulation and transformation of a huge mass of mineral and organic substances occurs, therefore the geological and geochemical processes occurring in the oceans and seas have a very strong impact on the entire earth’s crust. It was the Ocean that became the cradle of life on Earth; it is now home to about four-fifths of all living creatures on the planet.

Judging by photographs taken from space, the name “Ocean” would be more suitable for our planet. It was already said above that 70.8% of the entire surface of the Earth is covered with water. As we know, there are 3 main oceans on Earth - the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian, but Antarctic and Arctic waters are also considered oceans. Moreover, the Pacific Ocean is larger in area than all the continents combined. These 5 oceans are not separate water basins, but a single ocean mass with conditional boundaries. Russian geographer and oceanographer Yuri Mikhailovich Shakalsky called the entire continuous shell of the Earth the World Ocean. This is a modern definition. But, in addition to the fact that once all the continents rose from the water, in that geographical era when all the continents had already basically formed and had outlines close to modern ones, the World Ocean took over almost the entire surface of the Earth. It was a universal flood. Evidence of its authenticity is not only geological and biblical. Written sources have reached us - Sumerian tablets, transcripts of the records of the priests of Ancient Egypt. The entire surface of the Earth, with the exception of some mountain peaks, was covered with water. In the European part of our continent, the water cover reached two meters, and in the territory of modern China - about 70 - 80 cm.

Resources of the world's oceans.

In our time, the “era of global problems,” the World Ocean plays an increasingly important role in the life of mankind. Being a huge storehouse of mineral, energy, plant and animal resources, which - with their rational consumption and artificial reproduction - can be considered practically inexhaustible, the Ocean is capable of solving some of the most pressing problems: the need to provide a rapidly growing population with food and raw materials for developing industry, danger of energy crisis, lack of fresh water.

The main resource of the World Ocean is sea water. It contains 75 chemical elements, including such important ones as uranium, potassium, bromine, and magnesium. And although the main product of sea water is still table salt - 33% of world production, magnesium and bromine are already being mined, methods for producing a number of metals have long been patented, among them copper and silver, which are necessary for industry, the reserves of which are steadily depleting, when, as in ocean their waters contain up to half a billion tons. In connection with the development of nuclear energy, there are good prospects for the extraction of uranium and deuterium from the waters of the World Ocean, especially since the reserves of uranium ore on earth are decreasing, and in the Ocean there are 10 billion tons of it; deuterium is generally practically inexhaustible - for every 5000 atoms of ordinary hydrogen there is one atom of heavy. In addition to releasing chemical elements, seawater can be used to obtain the fresh water that people need. Many industrial desalination methods are now available: chemical reactions are used to remove impurities from water; salt water is passed through special filters; finally, the usual boiling is carried out. But desalination is not the only way to obtain potable water. There are bottom sources that are increasingly being discovered on the continental shelf, that is, in areas of continental shallows adjacent to the shores of land and having the same geological structure. One of these sources, located off the coast of France - in Normandy, provides such an amount of water that it is called an underground river.

The mineral resources of the World Ocean are represented not only by sea water, but also by what is “under water”. The depths of the ocean, its bottom, are rich in mineral deposits. On the continental shelf there are coastal placer deposits - gold, platinum; There are also precious stones - rubies, diamonds, sapphires, emeralds. For example, underwater diamond gravel mining has been going on near Namibia since 1962. On the shelf and partly on the continental slope of the Ocean there are large deposits of phosphorites that can be used as fertilizers, and the reserves will last for the next few hundred years. The most interesting type of mineral raw materials in the World Ocean are the famous ferromanganese nodules, which cover vast underwater plains. Nodules are a kind of “cocktail” of metals: they include copper, cobalt, nickel, titanium, vanadium, but, of course, most of all iron and manganese. Their locations are generally known, but the results of industrial development are still very modest. But exploration and production of ocean oil and gas on the coastal shelf is in full swing; the share of offshore production is approaching 1/3 of the world production of these energy resources. Deposits are being developed on an especially large scale in the Persian, Venezuelan, Gulf of Mexico, and the North Sea; oil platforms stretch off the coast of California, Indonesia, in the Mediterranean and Caspian Seas. The Gulf of Mexico is also famous for the sulfur deposit discovered during oil exploration, which is melted from the bottom using superheated water. Another, as yet untouched, pantry of the ocean is the deep crevices, where a new bottom is formed. For example, hot (over 60 degrees) and heavy brines of the Red Sea depression contain huge reserves of silver, tin, copper, iron and other metals. Shallow water mining is becoming more and more important. Around Japan, for example, underwater iron-containing sands are sucked out through pipes; the country extracts about 20% of its coal from offshore mines - an artificial island is built over the rock deposits and a shaft is drilled to expose the coal seams.

Many natural processes occurring in the World Ocean - movement, temperature regime of water - are inexhaustible energy resources. For example, the total power of the Ocean's tidal energy is estimated from 1 to 6 billion kWh. This property of ebbs and flows was used in France in the Middle Ages: in the 12th century, mills were built, the wheels of which were driven by tidal waves. Nowadays, in France there are modern power plants that use the same principle of operation: the turbines rotate in one direction when the tide is high, and in the other when the tide is low. The main wealth of the World Ocean is its biological resources (fish, zoo and phytoplankton and others). The ocean's biomass includes 150 thousand species of animals and 10 thousand algae, and its total volume is estimated at 35 billion tons, which may well be enough to feed 30 billion! Human. By catching 85-90 million tons of fish annually, which accounts for 85% of the marine products used, shellfish, algae, humanity provides about 20% of its needs for animal proteins. The living world of the Ocean is a huge food resource that can be inexhaustible if used correctly and carefully. The maximum fish catch should not exceed 150-180 million tons per year: exceeding this limit is very dangerous, as irreparable losses will occur. Many varieties of fish, whales, and pinnipeds have almost disappeared from ocean waters due to excessive hunting, and it is unknown whether their numbers will ever recover. But the world's population is growing at a rapid pace, increasingly in need of seafood products. There are several ways to increase its productivity. The first is to remove from the ocean not only fish, but also zooplankton, some of which - Antarctic krill - have already been eaten. It is possible, without any damage to the Ocean, to catch it in much larger quantities than all the fish currently caught. The second way is the use of biological resources of the open Ocean. The biological productivity of the Ocean is especially great in the area of rising deep waters. One of these upwellings, located off the coast of Peru, provides 15% of the world's fish production, although its area is no more than two hundredths of a percent of the entire surface of the World Ocean. Finally, the third way is the cultural breeding of living organisms, mainly in coastal areas. All three of these methods have been successfully tested in many countries around the world, but locally, which is why fishing continues to be destructive in volume. At the end of the twentieth century, the Norwegian, Bering, Okhotsk, and Japanese seas were considered the most productive water areas.

The ocean, being a storehouse of diverse resources, is also a free and convenient road that connects continents and islands distant from each other. Maritime transport accounts for almost 80% of transport between countries, serving the growing global production and exchange. The world's oceans can serve as a waste recycler. Thanks to the chemical and physical effects of its waters and the biological influence of living organisms, it disperses and purifies the bulk of the waste entering it, maintaining the relative balance of the Earth's ecosystems. Over the course of 3,000 years, as a result of the water cycle in nature, all the water in the World Ocean is renewed.

Pollution of the world's oceans.

Oil and petroleum products

Oil is a viscous oily liquid that is dark brown in color and weakly fluorescent. Oil consists primarily of saturated aliphatic and hydroaromatic hydrocarbons. The main components of oil - hydrocarbons (up to 98%) - are divided into 4 classes:

a).Paraffins (alkenes). (up to 90% of the total composition) - stable substances, the molecules of which are expressed by a straight and branched chain of carbon atoms. Light paraffins have maximum volatility and solubility in water.

b). Cycloparaffins. (30 - 60% of the total composition) saturated cyclic compounds with 5-6 carbon atoms in the ring. In addition to cyclopentane and cyclohexane, bicyclic and polycyclic compounds of this group are found in oil. These compounds are very stable and poorly biodegradable.

c).Aromatic hydrocarbons. (20 - 40% of the total composition) - unsaturated cyclic compounds of the benzene series, containing 6 less carbon atoms in the ring than cycloparaffins. Oil contains volatile compounds with a molecule in the form of a single ring (benzene, toluene, xylene), then bicyclic (naphthalene), polycyclic (pyrone).

G). Olefins (alkenes). (up to 10% of the total composition) - unsaturated non-cyclic compounds with one or two hydrogen atoms at each carbon atom in a molecule having a straight or branched chain.

Oil and petroleum products are the most common pollutants in the World Ocean. By the beginning of the 80s, about 16 million tons of oil entered the ocean annually, which amounted to 0.23% of world production. The greatest oil losses are associated with its transportation from production areas. Emergency situations involving tankers draining washing and ballast water overboard - all this causes the presence of permanent fields of pollution along sea routes. In the period 1962-79, as a result of accidents, about 2 million tons of oil entered the marine environment. Over the past 30 years, since 1964, about 2,000 wells have been drilled in the World Ocean, of which 1,000 and 350 industrial wells have been equipped in the North Sea alone. Due to minor leaks, 0.1 million tons of oil are lost annually. Large masses of oil enter the seas through rivers, with domestic and storm drains. The volume of pollution from this source is 2.0 million tons/year. Every year 0.5 million tons of oil enters with industrial wastewater. Once in the marine environment, oil first spreads in the form of a film, forming layers of varying thickness.

The oil film changes the composition of the spectrum and the intensity of light penetration into water. The light transmittance of thin films of crude oil is 11-10% (280 nm), 60-70% (400 nm). A film with a thickness of 30-40 microns completely absorbs infrared radiation. When mixed with water, oil forms two types of emulsion: direct oil in water and reverse water in oil. Direct emulsions, composed of oil droplets with a diameter of up to 0.5 microns, are less stable and are characteristic of oils containing surfactants. When volatile fractions are removed, oil forms viscous inverse emulsions that can remain on the surface, be transported by currents, washed ashore and settle to the bottom.

Pesticides

Pesticides constitute a group of artificially created substances used to control plant pests and diseases. Pesticides are divided into the following groups:

Insecticides to control harmful insects,

Fungicides and bactericides - to combat bacterial plant diseases,

Herbicides against weeds.

It has been established that pesticides, while destroying pests, harm many beneficial organisms and undermine the health of biocenoses. In agriculture, there has long been a problem of transition from chemical (polluting) to biological (environmentally friendly) methods of pest control. Currently, more than 5 million tons of pesticides are supplied to the world market. About 1.5 million tons of these substances have already become part of terrestrial and marine ecosystems through ash and water. Industrial production of pesticides is accompanied by the emergence of a large number of by-products that pollute wastewater. Representatives of insecticides, fungicides and herbicides are most often found in the aquatic environment. Synthesized insecticides are divided into three main groups: organochlorine, organophosphorus and carbonates.

Organochlorine insecticides are produced by chlorination of aromatic and heterocyclic liquid hydrocarbons. These include DDT and its derivatives, in whose molecules the stability of aliphatic and aromatic groups in the joint presence increases, and all kinds of chlorinated derivatives of chlorodiene (Eldrin). These substances have a half-life of up to several decades and are very resistant to biodegradation. In the aquatic environment, polychlorinated biphenyls are often found - derivatives of DDT without an aliphatic part, numbering 210 homologues and isomers. Over the past 40 years, more than 1.2 million tons of polychlorinated biphenyls have been used in the production of plastics, dyes, transformers, and capacitors. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) enter the environment as a result of industrial wastewater discharges and solid waste combustion in landfills. The latter source supplies PBCs into the atmosphere, from where they fall with precipitation in all regions of the globe. Thus, in snow samples taken in Antarctica, the PBC content was 0.03 - 1.2 kg. /l.

Synthetic surfactants

Detergents (surfactants) belong to a large group of substances that reduce the surface tension of water. They are part of synthetic detergents (SDCs), widely used in everyday life and industry. Together with wastewater, surfactants enter continental waters and the marine environment. SMS contain sodium polyphosphates in which detergents are dissolved, as well as a number of additional ingredients that are toxic to aquatic organisms: fragrances, bleaching reagents (persulfates, perborates), soda ash, carboxymethylcellulose, sodium silicates. Depending on the nature and structure of the hydrophilic part, surfactant molecules are divided into anionic, cationic, amphoteric and nonionic. The latter do not form ions in water. The most common surfactants are anionic substances. They account for more than 50% of all surfactants produced in the world. The presence of surfactants in industrial wastewater is associated with their use in processes such as flotation concentration of ores, separation of chemical technology products, production of polymers, improving conditions for drilling oil and gas wells, and combating equipment corrosion. In agriculture, surfactants are used as part of pesticides.

Compounds with carcinogenic properties

Carcinogenic substances are chemically homogeneous compounds that exhibit transforming activity and the ability to cause carcinogenic, teratogenic (disruption of embryonic development processes) or mutagenic changes in organisms. Depending on the conditions of exposure, they can lead to growth inhibition, accelerated aging, disruption of individual development and changes in the gene pool of organisms. Substances with carcinogenic properties include chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons, vinyl chloride, and especially polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The maximum amount of PAHs in modern sediments of the World Ocean (more than 100 μg/km of dry matter mass) was found in tectonically active zones subject to deep thermal effects. The main anthropogenic sources of PAHs in the environment are the pyrolysis of organic substances during the combustion of various materials, wood and fuels.

Heavy metals

Heavy metals (mercury, lead, cadmium, zinc, copper, arsenic) are common and highly toxic pollutants. They are widely used in various industrial processes, therefore, despite treatment measures, the content of heavy metal compounds in industrial wastewater is quite high. Large masses of these compounds enter the ocean through the atmosphere. For marine biocenoses, the most dangerous are mercury, lead and cadmium. Mercury is transported to the ocean by continental runoff and through the atmosphere. During the weathering of sedimentary and igneous rocks, 3.5 thousand tons of mercury are released annually. Atmospheric dust contains about 121 thousand. t. 0mercury, and a significant part is of anthropogenic origin. About half of the annual industrial production of this metal (910 thousand tons / year) ends up in the ocean in various ways. In areas polluted by industrial waters, the concentration of mercury in solution and suspended matter increases greatly. At the same time, some bacteria convert chlorides into highly toxic methyl mercury. Contamination of seafood has repeatedly led to mercury poisoning of coastal populations. By 1977, there were 2,800 victims of Minomata disease, which was caused by waste from vinyl chloride and acetaldehyde production plants that used mercuric chloride as a catalyst. Insufficiently treated wastewater from factories flowed into Minamata Bay. Pig is a typical trace element contained in all components of the environment: rocks, soils, natural waters, atmosphere, living organisms. Finally, pigs are actively dispersed into the environment during human economic activities. These are emissions from industrial and domestic wastewater, from smoke and dust from industrial enterprises, and from exhaust gases from internal combustion engines. The migration flow of lead from the continent to the ocean occurs not only with river runoff, but also through the atmosphere.

With continental dust, the ocean receives (20-30)*10^3 tons of lead per year.

Dumping waste into the sea for disposal

Many countries with access to the sea carry out marine disposal of various materials and substances, in particular dredging soil, drilling slag, industrial waste, construction waste, solid waste, explosives and chemicals, and radioactive waste. The volume of burials amounted to about 10% of the total mass of pollutants entering the World Ocean. The basis for dumping at sea is the ability of the marine environment to process large quantities of organic and inorganic substances without much damage to the water. However, this ability is not unlimited. Therefore, dumping is seen as a forced measure, a temporary tribute from society to the imperfection of technology. Industrial slag contains a variety of organic substances and heavy metal compounds. Household waste on average contains (by dry matter weight) 32-40% organic matter; 0.56% nitrogen; 0.44% phosphorus; 0.155% zinc; 0.085% lead; 0.001% mercury; 0.001% cadmium. During the discharge, when the material passes through a column of water, some of the pollutants go into solution, changing the quality of the water, while others are sorbed by suspended particles and pass into bottom sediments. At the same time, the turbidity of the water increases. The presence of organic substances leads to the rapid consumption of oxygen in water and not to its complete disappearance, the dissolution of suspended matter, the accumulation of metals in dissolved form, and the appearance of hydrogen sulfide. The presence of a large amount of organic substances creates a stable reducing environment in the soil, in which a special type of silt water appears, containing hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, and metal ions. Benthos organisms and others are exposed to varying degrees to the effects of discharged materials. In the case of the formation of surface films containing petroleum hydrocarbons and surfactants, gas exchange at the air-water interface is disrupted. Pollutants entering the solution can accumulate in the tissues and organs of aquatic organisms and have a toxic effect on them. The discharge of dumping materials to the bottom and prolonged increased turbidity of the added water leads to the death of sedentary benthos from suffocation. In surviving fish, mollusks and crustaceans, their growth rate is reduced due to deteriorating feeding and breathing conditions. The species composition of a given community often changes. When organizing a system for monitoring waste emissions into the sea, it is crucial to identify dumping areas and determine the dynamics of pollution of sea water and bottom sediments. To identify possible volumes of discharge into the sea, it is necessary to carry out calculations of all pollutants in the material discharge.

Thermal pollution

Thermal pollution of the surface of reservoirs and coastal marine areas occurs as a result of the discharge of heated wastewater by power plants and some industrial production. The discharge of heated water in many cases causes an increase in water temperature in reservoirs by 6-8 degrees Celsius. The area of heated water spots in coastal areas can reach 30 square meters. km. More stable temperature stratification prevents water exchange between the surface and bottom layers. The solubility of oxygen decreases, and its consumption increases, since with increasing temperature the activity of aerobic bacteria decomposing organic matter increases. The species diversity of phytoplankton and the entire algal flora is increasing. Based on the generalization of the material, we can conclude that the effects of anthropogenic impact on the aquatic environment manifest themselves at the individual and population-biocenotic levels, and the long-term effect of pollutants leads to a simplification of the ecosystem.

Protection of seas and oceans

The most serious problem of the seas and oceans in our century is oil pollution, the consequences of which are disastrous for all life on Earth. Therefore, in 1954, an international conference was held in London with the goal of developing concerted actions to protect the marine environment from oil pollution. It adopted a convention defining the responsibilities of states in this area. Later, in 1958, four more documents were adopted in Geneva: on the high seas, on the territorial sea and the contiguous zone, on the continental shelf, on fisheries and the protection of living marine resources. These conventions legally established the principles and norms of the law of the sea. They obliged each country to develop and implement laws prohibiting pollution of the marine environment with oil, radioactive waste and other harmful substances. A conference held in London in 1973 adopted documents on the prevention of pollution from ships. According to the adopted convention, each ship must have a certificate - evidence that the hull, mechanisms and other equipment are in good condition and do not cause damage to the sea. Compliance with certificates is checked by inspection upon entry into the port.

It is prohibited to discharge oil-containing water from tankers; all discharges from them must be pumped only to onshore receiving points. Electrochemical installations have been created for the purification and disinfection of ship wastewater, including domestic wastewater. The Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences has developed an emulsion method for cleaning sea tankers, which completely eliminates the entry of oil into the water area. It consists of adding several surfactants (ML preparation) to the wash water, which allows cleaning on the ship itself without discharging contaminated water or oil residues, which can subsequently be regenerated for further use. Up to 300 tons of oil can be washed from each tanker. In order to prevent oil leaks, the designs of oil tankers are being improved. Many modern tankers have a double bottom. If one of them is damaged, oil will not spill out; it will be retained by the second shell.

Ship captains are required to record in special logs information about all cargo operations with oil and petroleum products, and note the place and time of delivery or discharge of contaminated wastewater from the ship. Floating oil skimmers and side barriers are used to systematically clean up water areas from accidental spills. Also, in order to prevent oil spreading, physicochemical methods are used. A foam group preparation has been created that, when in contact with an oil slick, completely envelops it. After spinning, the foam can be used again as a sorbent. Such drugs are very convenient due to their ease of use and low cost, but their mass production has not yet been established. There are also sorbent agents based on plant, mineral and synthetic substances. Some of them can collect up to 90% of spilled oil. The main requirement that is placed on them is unsinkability. After collecting oil with sorbents or mechanical means, a thin film always remains on the surface of the water, which can be removed by spraying chemicals that decompose it. But at the same time, these substances must be biologically safe.

A unique technology has been created and tested in Japan, with the help of which a giant stain can be eliminated in a short time. Kansai Sage Corporation has released the ASWW reagent, the main component of which is specially processed rice husk. Sprayed over the surface, the drug absorbs the waste within half an hour and turns into a thick mass that can be pulled off with a simple net. The original cleaning method was demonstrated by American scientists in the Atlantic Ocean. A ceramic plate is lowered under the oil film to a certain depth. An acoustic record is connected to it. Under the influence of vibration, it first accumulates in a thick layer above the place where the plate is installed, and then mixes with water and begins to gush. An electric current applied to the plate ignites the fountain, and the oil burns completely.

To remove oil stains from the surface of coastal waters, American scientists have created a modification of polypropylene that attracts fatty particles. On a catamaran boat, a kind of curtain made of this material was placed between the hulls, the ends of which hang into the water. As soon as the boat hits the slick, the oil firmly adheres to the “curtain”. All that remains is to pass the polymer through the rollers of a special device, which squeezes the oil into the prepared container. Since 1993, the dumping of liquid radioactive waste (LRW) has been prohibited, but their number is steadily growing. Therefore, in order to protect the environment, liquid radioactive waste cleanup projects began to be developed in the 90s. In 1996, representatives of Japanese, American and Russian firms signed a contract to create a facility for processing liquid radioactive waste accumulated in the Russian Far East. The Japanese government allocated $25.2 million for the project. However, despite some successes in finding effective means to eliminate pollution, it is too early to talk about solving the problem. Only by introducing new methods of cleaning water areas it is impossible to ensure the cleanliness of the seas and oceans. The central task that all countries need to solve together is the prevention of pollution.

Conclusion

The consequences of mankind's wasteful, careless attitude towards the Ocean are terrifying. The destruction of plankton, fish and other inhabitants of ocean waters is not everything. The damage could be much greater. After all, the World Ocean has planetary functions: it is a powerful regulator of the moisture circulation and thermal regime of the Earth, as well as the circulation of its atmosphere. Pollution can cause very significant changes in all these characteristics, which are vital for climate and weather patterns throughout the planet. Symptoms of such changes are already visible today. Severe droughts and floods recur, destructive hurricanes appear, and severe frosts come even to the tropics, where they have never occurred. Of course, it is not yet possible to even approximately estimate the dependence of such damage on the degree of pollution. The world's oceans, however, a relationship undoubtedly exists. Be that as it may, ocean protection is one of humanity’s global problems. A dead ocean is a dead planet, and therefore all of humanity.

Bibliography

1. “World Ocean”, V.N. Stepanov, “Knowledge”, M. 1994

2. Geography textbook. Yu.N.Gladky, S.B.Lavrov.

3. “Ecology of the environment and humans”, Yu.V.Novikov. 1998

4. “Ra” Thor Heyerdahl, “Thought”, 1972

5. Stepanovskikh, “Environmental Protection.”

Water is the most valuable natural resource. Its role is to participate in the metabolic process of all substances that are the basis of any life form. It is impossible to imagine the activities of industrial and agricultural enterprises without the use of water; it is indispensable in human everyday life. Water is necessary for everyone: people, animals, plants. For some it is a habitat.

The rapid development of human life and inefficient use of resources has led to the fact that Environmental problems (including water pollution) have become too acute. Their solution comes first for humanity. Scientists and environmentalists around the world are sounding the alarm and trying to find a solution to the global problem

Sources of water pollution

There are many reasons for pollution, and the human factor is not always to blame. Natural disasters also harm clean water bodies and disrupt the ecological balance.

The most common sources of water pollution are:

Industrial, domestic wastewater. Having not undergone a system of purification from chemical harmful substances, when they enter a body of water, they provoke an environmental disaster.

Tertiary treatment. The water is treated with powders, special compounds, and filtered in multiple stages, killing harmful organisms and destroying other substances. It is used for household needs of citizens, as well as in the food industry and agriculture.

- radioactive contamination of water

The main sources that pollute the World Ocean include the following radioactive factors:

nuclear weapons testing;
radioactive waste discharges;
major accidents (ships with nuclear reactors, Chernobyl nuclear power plant);
disposal of radioactive waste at the bottom of oceans and seas.

Environmental problems and water pollution are directly related to contamination by radioactive waste. For example, French and English nuclear plants contaminated almost the entire North Atlantic. Our country has become the culprit of pollution of the Arctic Ocean. Three underground nuclear reactors, as well as the production of Krasnoyarsk-26, have clogged the largest river, the Yenisei. It is obvious that radioactive products entered the ocean.

Pollution of world waters with radionuclides

The problem of pollution of the waters of the World Ocean is acute. Let us briefly list the most dangerous radionuclides that enter it: cesium-137; cerium-144; strontium-90; niobium-95; yttrium-91. All of them have a high bioaccumulating capacity, pass through food chains and concentrate in marine organisms. This creates a danger for both humans and aquatic organisms.

The waters of the Arctic seas are subject to severe contamination from various sources of radionuclides. People carelessly dump hazardous waste into the ocean, thereby turning it dead. Man has probably forgotten that the ocean is the main wealth of the earth. It has powerful biological and mineral resources. And if we want to survive, we urgently need to take measures to save him.

Solutions

Rational consumption of water and protection from pollution are the main tasks of humanity. Ways to solve environmental problems of water pollution lead to the fact that, first of all, great attention should be paid to the discharge of hazardous substances into rivers. On an industrial scale, it is necessary to improve wastewater treatment technologies. In Russia, it is necessary to introduce a law that would increase the collection of fees for discharges. The proceeds should be used for the development and construction of new environmental technologies. For the smallest emissions, the fee should be reduced, this will serve as motivation to maintain a healthy environmental situation.

The education of the younger generation plays a major role in solving environmental problems. From an early age it is necessary to teach children to respect and love nature. Instill in them that the Earth is our big home, for the order of which every person is responsible. Water must be conserved, not poured out thoughtlessly, and efforts must be made to prevent foreign objects and harmful substances from getting into the sewer system.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I would like to say that environmental problems of Russia and water pollution probably worries everyone. The thoughtless waste of water resources and the littering of rivers with various garbage has led to the fact that there are very few clean, safe corners left in nature.Environmentalists have become much more vigilant, and numerous measures are being taken to restore order in the environment. If each of us thinks about the consequences of our barbaric, consumerist attitude, the situation can be improved. Only together will humanity be able to save water bodies, the World Ocean and, possibly, the lives of future generations.

Ocean waters are rapidly becoming polluted. A huge amount of “dirt” is carried into the ocean from land by rivers and sewage. More than 30% of the ocean surface is covered with an oil film that is destructive to plankton. The destruction of plankton, that is, protozoa and crustaceans passively floating in water, led to a reduction in the food supply for nekton and reduced its quantity, and, consequently, reduced fish production.

The environmental consequences of pollution of the World Ocean are expressed in the following processes and phenomena:

Violation of ecosystem stability;

Progressive eutrophication;

The emergence of “red tides”;

Accumulation of chemical toxicants in biota;

Decrease in biological productivity;

The occurrence of mutagenesis and carcinogenesis in the marine environment;

Microbiological pollution of coastal areas of the sea.

The industrial use of the World Ocean has led to colossal pollution, and currently this problem is one of the global ones facing all of humanity. Over the past 20 years, ocean pollution has become catastrophic.

Not the least role in this was played by the opinion about the ocean’s capabilities for self-purification.

The most dangerous pollution for the ocean is: pollution from oil and petroleum products, radioactive substances, industrial and household waste, and chemical fertilizers. However, there are also powerful external sources of pollution - atmospheric flows and continental runoff. As a result, today we can state the presence of pollutants not only in areas adjacent to continents and in areas of intense shipping, but also in open parts of the oceans, including the high latitudes of the Arctic and Antarctic. It should be noted that pollution of soil, water or atmosphere also ultimately comes down to pollution of the World Ocean, since as a result all toxic substances enter it.

The rapid development of engineering and technology has led to the involvement of ocean resources in economic circulation, and its problems have become global in nature. There are a lot of these problems. They are associated with ocean pollution, a decrease in its biological productivity, and the development of mineral and energy resources. Ocean use has particularly increased in recent years, dramatically increasing the pressure on the ocean. Intensive economic activity has led to increasing water pollution. Accidents of oil tankers, drilling platforms, and the discharge of oil-contaminated water from ships have a particularly detrimental effect on the environmental situation in the World Ocean. The marginal seas are especially polluted: the North, Baltic, Mediterranean, and Persian Gulf.

According to experts, about 15 million tons of oil enter the World Ocean every year. This is due to the movements of oil tankers. In the past, the practice of flushing the holds of tankers was widely used, resulting in the release of huge quantities of oil into the ocean.

Coastal waters are mainly affected by a large number of sources of pollution: from industrial waste and sewage to intense marine traffic. This contributes to the reduction of ocean flora and fauna, and creates a serious danger for humans in the form of numerous diseases

Oil pollution of the World Ocean is undoubtedly the most widespread phenomenon. From 2 to 4% of the water surface of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans is constantly covered with an oil film. Up to 6 million tons of petroleum hydrocarbons enter sea waters annually. Almost half of this amount is associated with transportation and offshore development. Continental oil pollution enters the ocean through river runoff.

In the ocean, oil pollution comes in many forms. It can cover the surface of the water in a thin film, and during spills the thickness of the oil coating can initially be several centimeters. Over time, an emulsion of oil in water or water in oil is formed. Later, lumps of the heavy fraction of oil, oil aggregates, appear that can float on the surface of the sea for a long time. Various small animals are attached to the floating lumps of fuel oil, which fish and baleen whales readily feed on. Together with them they swallow oil. Some fish die from this, others become completely saturated with oil and become unsuitable for consumption due to their unpleasant smell and taste. All components of oil are toxic to marine organisms. Oil affects the community structure of marine animals. Oil pollution changes the ratio of species and reduces their diversity. Thus, microorganisms that feed on petroleum hydrocarbons develop abundantly, and the biomass of these microorganisms is toxic to many marine inhabitants.

It has been proven that long-term chronic exposure to even small concentrations of oil is very dangerous. At the same time, the primary biological productivity of the sea is gradually falling. Oil has another unpleasant side effect. Its hydrocarbons are capable of dissolving a number of other pollutants, such as pesticides and heavy metals, which, together with oil, are concentrated in the surface layer and further poison it. The largest quantities of oil are concentrated in a thin near-surface layer of sea water, which plays a particularly important role for various aspects of ocean life. Surface oil films disrupt gas exchange between the atmosphere and the ocean. The processes of dissolution and release of oxygen, carbon dioxide, heat exchange undergo changes, and the reflectivity of sea water changes. Chlorinated hydrocarbons, widely used as means of controlling agricultural and forestry pests and carriers of infectious diseases, have been entering the World Ocean along with river runoff and through the atmosphere for many decades. DDT (a chemical widely used in the 50-60s of the 20th century for pest control. A very persistent compound that can accumulate in the environment, pollute it and disrupt the biological balance in nature. Banned everywhere in the 70s) and its derivatives , polychlorinated biphenyls and other persistent compounds of this class are now found throughout the world's oceans, including the Arctic and Antarctic. They are easily soluble in fats and therefore accumulate in the organs of fish, mammals, and seabirds. Being substances of completely artificial origin, they do not have their “consumers” among microorganisms and therefore almost do not decompose in natural conditions, but only accumulate in the World Ocean. At the same time, they are acutely toxic and affect the hematopoietic system and heredity.

Along with river runoff, heavy metals also enter the ocean, many of which have toxic properties. The total river flow is 46 thousand km of water per year.

Together with it, up to 2 million tons of lead, up to 20 thousand tons of cadmium and up to 10 thousand tons of mercury enter the World Ocean. Coastal waters and inland seas have the highest levels of pollution.

The atmosphere also plays a significant role in the pollution of the World Ocean. For example, up to 30% of all mercury and 50% of lead entering the ocean each year is transported through the atmosphere. Due to its toxic effects in the marine environment, mercury is particularly dangerous. Microbiological processes convert toxic inorganic mercury into much more toxic forms of mercury. Its compounds accumulated in fish or shellfish pose a direct threat to human life and health. Mercury, cadmium, lead, copper, zinc, chromium, arsenic and other heavy metals not only accumulate in marine organisms, thereby poisoning marine food, but also have a detrimental effect on sea inhabitants. The accumulation coefficients of toxic metals, i.e. their concentration per unit weight in marine organisms relative to seawater, vary widely - from hundreds to hundreds of thousands, depending on the nature of the metals and the types of organisms. These coefficients show how harmful substances accumulate in fish, shellfish, crustaceans, planktonic and other organisms.

In some countries, under public pressure, laws have been passed prohibiting the discharge of untreated wastewater into inland waters - rivers, lakes, etc.

In order not to incur “extra expenses” for the installation of necessary structures, the monopolies found a convenient way out. They build diversion channels that carry wastewater directly to the sea, not sparing the resorts.

Dumping of waste into the sea for the purpose of burial (dumping).

A terrible threat to all life, not only in the ocean, but also on land, is posed by atomic tests at sea and the burial of radioactive waste in the depths of the sea.

The basis for dumping at sea is the ability of the marine environment to process large quantities of organic and inorganic substances without much damage to the water. However, this ability is not unlimited. Therefore, dumping is seen as a forced measure, a temporary tribute from society to the imperfection of technology. Industrial slag contains a variety of organic substances and heavy metal compounds. Household waste on average contains (by dry matter weight) 32-40% organic matter; 0.56% nitrogen; 0.44% phosphorus; 0.155% zinc; 0.085% lead; 0.001% mercury; 0.001% cadmium.

During discharge, when the material passes through a column of water, part of the pollutants goes into solution, changing the quality of the water, while the other is sorbed by suspended particles and goes into bottom sediments.

At the same time, the turbidity of the water increases. The presence of organic substances often leads to the rapid consumption of oxygen in water and often to its complete disappearance, dissolution of suspended matter, accumulation of metals in dissolved form, and the appearance of hydrogen sulfide.

The presence of a large amount of organic substances creates a stable reducing environment in the soil, in which a special type of silt water appears, containing hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, and metal ions. Benthic organisms and others are affected to varying degrees by the impact of discharged materials.

The discharge of dumping materials to the bottom and prolonged increased turbidity of the water lead to the death of sedentary benthos from suffocation. In surviving fish, mollusks and crustaceans, their growth rate is reduced due to deteriorating feeding and breathing conditions. The species composition of a given community often changes.

When organizing a control system for waste discharges into the sea, identifying dumping areas and determining the dynamics of pollution of sea water and bottom sediments is of decisive importance. To identify possible volumes of discharge into the sea, it is necessary to carry out calculations of all pollutants in the material discharge.

The dumping of waste led to massive deaths of ocean inhabitants. The main sources of pollution of water bodies are enterprises of ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, chemical and petrochemical, pulp and paper, and light industry. Wastewater is contaminated with minerals, salts of heavy metals (copper, lead, zinc, nickel, mercury, etc.), arsenic, chlorides, etc. Woodworking and pulp and paper industries. The main source of wastewater generation in the industry is cellulose production, based on sulfate and sulfite methods of wood pulping and bleaching. As a result of the activities of the oil refining industry, significant quantities of petroleum products, sulfates, chlorides, nitrogen compounds, phenols, salts of heavy metals, etc. entered water bodies. Suspended substances, total nitrogen, ammonium nitrogen, nitrates, chlorides, sulfates, etc. also entered natural water bodies. total phosphorus, cyanides, cadmium, cobalt, copper, manganese, nickel, mercury, lead, chromium, zinc, hydrogen sulfide, carbon disulfide, alcohols, benzene, formaldehyde, phenols, surfactants, urea, pesticides, semi-finished products.

Light industry. The main pollution of water bodies comes from textile production and leather tanning processes.

Textile industry wastewater contains: suspended solids, sulfates, chlorides, phosphorus and nitrogen compounds, nitrates, synthetic surfactants, iron, copper, zinc, nickel, chromium, lead, fluorine. Tanning industry - nitrogen compounds, phenols, synthetic surfactants, fats and oils, chromium, aluminum, hydrogen sulfide, methanol, fenaldehyde. Domestic wastewater is water from kitchens, toilets, showers, baths, laundries, canteens, hospitals, domestic premises of industrial enterprises, etc.

Another serious problem threatens the World Ocean and humanity as a whole. The current climate model takes into account the interaction of the Earth's heat, clouds and ocean currents. This, of course, does not simplify the preparation of climate and environmental forecasts, since the range of potential climate threats is becoming wider.

Timely receipt of information about water evaporation, cloud formation and the nature of ocean currents makes it possible, using data on the heating of the Earth, to make long-term forecasts of their changes.

Vortex storms - cyclones - pose an increasing threat. But the giant “pumping” system of the World Ocean also threatens to stop working - a system that depends on low polar temperatures and, like a powerful pump, “pumps” cold deep waters towards the equator. This means, for example, that in the absence of a cold current, the warm Gulf Stream will gradually stop flowing north. Therefore, the paradoxical idea that as a result of a strong greenhouse effect with a changed nature of currents, an ice age will begin again in Europe, is being seriously discussed.

At first the ocean will react weakly. However, in some places there will be disruptions to normal processes as a consequence of the increasing warming of the Earth. These disturbances include frequent typhoons and the El Niño phenomenon - when the deep cold Humboldt Current coming from the south and coming to the surface off the coast of South America is periodically pushed away from the coast by the influx of warm tropical waters. As a result, there is a massive death of marine animals; In addition, moist air masses, when reaching land, cause destructive rainfall and lead to large economic losses. If we leave everything as before and continue to “press” with incredible force on the nature around us, we will soon cease to recognize it.

The main reason for the modern degradation of the Earth's natural waters is anthropogenic pollution. Its main sources are:

a) wastewater from industrial enterprises;

b) municipal wastewater of cities and other populated areas;

c) runoff from irrigation systems, surface runoff from fields and other agricultural facilities;

d) atmospheric fallout of pollutants onto the surface of water bodies and drainage basins.

In addition, unorganized runoff of precipitation water ("storm runoff", melt water) pollutes water bodies with a significant portion of man-made terrapollutants.

Anthropogenic pollution of the hydrosphere has now become global in nature and has significantly reduced the available exploitable fresh water resources on the planet.

Thermal pollution of the surface of reservoirs and coastal marine areas occurs as a result of the discharge of heated wastewater by power plants and some industrial production.

The discharge of heated water in many cases causes an increase in water temperature in reservoirs by 6-8 degrees Celsius. The area of heated water spots in coastal areas can reach 30 square meters. km. More stable temperature stratification prevents water exchange between the surface and bottom layers. The solubility of oxygen decreases, and its consumption increases, since with increasing temperature the activity of aerobic bacteria decomposing organic matter increases. The species diversity of phytoplankton and the entire algal flora is increasing.

Radioactive contamination and toxic substances.

The danger that directly threatens human health is also associated with the ability of some toxic substances to remain active for a long time. A number of them, such as DDT, mercury, not to mention radioactive substances, can accumulate in marine organisms and be transmitted over long distances along the food chain.

Plants and animals are susceptible to contamination by radioactive substances. In their bodies there is a biological concentration of these substances, transmitted to each other through food chains. Infected small organisms are eaten by larger ones, resulting in dangerous concentrations in the latter. The radioactivity of some planktonic organisms can be 1000 times higher than the radioactivity of water, and some fish, which represent one of the highest links in the food chain, even 50 thousand times. The Moscow Treaty banning the testing of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, outer space and under water stopped the progressive radioactive mass pollution of the World Ocean. However, the sources of this pollution remain in the form of plants for purifying uranium ore and processing nuclear fuel, nuclear power plants, and reactors.

The accumulation of nuclear weapons in the World Ocean occurred in different ways. Here are the main ones:

1. Deployment of nuclear weapons in the World Ocean as deterrents located on nuclear submarines;

2.Nuclear reactors used on ships with nuclear power plants, mainly submarines, some of which sank with nuclear fuel and nuclear equipment on board;

3. Use of the World Ocean for transportation of nuclear waste and spent nuclear fuel;

4. Using the World Ocean as a dump for nuclear waste;

5. Testing of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, especially over the Pacific Ocean, which became a source of nuclear contamination of both water areas and land;

6. Underground nuclear weapons testing, like those recently conducted by France in the South Pacific, endangering the fragile Pacific atolls and leading to true nuclear contamination of the oceans and the risk of more pollution if the atolls crack due to testing or future tectonic activity.

The problems arising from the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the World Ocean can be viewed from several perspectives.

From an environmental perspective, there are problems of nuclear pollution in the world's oceans affecting the food chain. The biological resources of the seas and oceans ultimately affect the humanity that depends on them.

Now the threat of nuclear contamination of the aquatic environment has somewhat decreased, since nuclear tests have not been carried out at sea since 1980. Moreover, the nuclear powers have committed themselves to accede to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which they promised to conclude by 1996. The signing of the Treaty will All underground nuclear tests have been stopped.

Discharge of high-level radioactive waste into the world's oceans has been reduced since the 1975 Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Materials, but dumping of low-level radioactive waste authorized by the International Atomic Energy Agency and non-compliance by individual countries are cause for concern. Problems can be foreseen in the future as radioactive contaminants stored in canisters or contained in fuel or weapons aboard sunken nuclear submarines are released into sea waters.

Increased use of the world's oceans to transport nuclear waste and spent nuclear fuel (for example, between Japan and France) has significantly increased the risk of pollution. Coastal and island states located along the transport routes of nuclear materials are at high risk of contamination in the event of a maritime disaster. The role of International Law regarding waterborne transport of hazardous materials must be strengthened and its provisions must be strictly enforced by the international community in order to prevent catastrophic situations.

Mineral, organic, bacterial and biological pollution of the World Ocean . Mineral contamination is usually represented by sand, clay particles, particles of ore, slag, mineral salts, solutions of acids, alkalis, etc. Bacterial and biological contamination is associated with various pathogenic organisms, fungi and algae.

Organic pollution is divided by origin into plant and animal. Pollution is caused by the remains of plants, fruits, vegetables and cereals, vegetable oil, etc. Pollution of animal origin is wool processing, fur production, microbiological industry enterprises, etc.).

The removal of organic matter into the ocean is estimated at 300 - 380 million tons/year. Wastewater containing suspensions of organic origin or dissolved organic matter has a detrimental effect on the condition of water bodies. As they settle, the suspensions flood the bottom and delay the development or completely stop the vital activity of these microorganisms involved in the process of self-purification of water. When these sediments rot, harmful compounds and toxic substances, such as hydrogen sulfide, can be formed, which lead to the contamination of all water in the river.

A significant volume of organic substances, most of which are not characteristic of natural waters, is discharged into rivers along with industrial and domestic wastewater.

With such an area and volume of the World Ocean, it is simply impossible to believe that it can be polluted, much less endangered. Nevertheless, it is so. All natural pollution of the ocean: the runoff of rock destruction products, the removal of organic substances by rivers, the entry of volcanic ash into the water, etc. - are perfectly balanced by nature itself.

Marine organisms are adapted to such pollution, and, moreover, they cannot live without it. In the complex ecological system of the World Ocean, all substances that enter the water naturally and in appropriate quantities and concentrations are successfully processed without any harm to the inhabitants of the sea, which continues to remain clean all the time.

As a result of the growth of cities and the accumulation of a large number of people in one place, household waste enters the ocean in a concentrated manner and does not have time to be disposed of during the self-purification process. In addition, industry discharges production by-products into the sea (directly through rivers or through the atmosphere) - substances that are generally not decomposed by marine organisms. In most cases, they have a harmful effect on sea inhabitants. Many artificial materials have appeared in everyday life (plastics, polyethylene, synthetic fabrics, etc.), products from which, having served their useful life, also end up in the ocean, polluting its bottom.

Many people, due to their lack of culture and ignorance, view the ocean as a giant cesspool, throwing overboard everything that they consider unnecessary. Often, sea pollution increases as a result of accidents and incidents with ships or at work, when large amounts of oil or other substances immediately enter the water, the discharge of which was not intended.

Port construction , industrial enterprises and even health institutions and hotels on the seashore take away from the ocean the most biologically productive zone - the littoral zone (a section of the coast that is flooded with sea water during high tide and drained during low tide.). Combined with excessive fishing, this also leads to impoverishment of life.

The problem of pollution of the World Ocean is one of the most acute and pressing today. Is it possible to solve it in modern conditions?

The ocean, as you know, is the beginning of beginnings, the basis of all life on our planet. After all, it was in it that the first living organisms in our geological history originated. The world's oceans occupy over 70% of the planet's surface. In addition, it contains about 95% of all water. This is why pollution of the waters of the World Ocean is so dangerous for the geographic envelope of the planet. And today this problem is becoming more and more acute.

The world ocean is the water shell of the planet

The ocean is a single and integral body of water on the Earth that washes the continental land. The term itself has Latin (or Greek) roots: "oceanus". The total area of the World Ocean is 361 million square kilometers, which is approximately 71% of the entire surface of our planet. It is generally accepted that it consists of water masses - relatively large volumes of water, each of which differs in its physical and chemical properties.

In the structure of the World Ocean we can distinguish:

oceans (there are 5 in total, according to the International Hydrographic Organization: Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic and Southern, which have been distinguished since 2000);
seas (according to the accepted classification, there are internal, inter-island, inter-continental and marginal);
bays and bays;
straits;
estuaries.

Ocean pollution is an important environmental problem of the 21st century

Every day, various chemicals enter soils and surface waters. This occurs as a result of the functioning of thousands of industrial enterprises that operate throughout the planet. These are oil and petroleum products, gasoline, pesticides, fertilizers, nitrates, mercury and other harmful compounds. All of them, as a rule, end up in the ocean. There these substances are deposited and accumulate in huge quantities.

Pollution of the World Ocean is a process that is associated with the entry of harmful substances of anthropogenic origin into its waters. Because of this, the quality of sea water deteriorates, and also causes significant harm to all inhabitants of the Ocean.

It is known that every year, as a result of natural processes alone, about 25 million tons of iron, 350 thousand tons of zinc and copper, and 180 thousand tons of lead enter the seas. All this, moreover, is greatly aggravated by anthropogenic influence.

The most dangerous ocean pollutant today is oil. From five to ten million tons of it are poured into the sea waters of the planet every year. Fortunately, thanks to the modern level of satellite technology, violators can be identified and punished. However, the problem of pollution of the World Ocean remains perhaps the most acute in modern environmental management. And its solution requires the consolidation of the forces of the entire world community.

Causes of ocean pollution

Why is the ocean polluted? What are the reasons for these sad processes? They lie primarily in irrational, and in some places even aggressive, human behavior in the sphere of environmental management. People do not understand (or do not want to understand) the possible consequences of their negative actions on nature.

Today it is known that pollution of the waters of the World Ocean occurs in three main ways:

through the runoff of river systems (the most polluted areas are the shelf zones, as well as areas near the mouths of large rivers);
through precipitation (this is how lead and mercury enter the ocean first of all);
due to unreasonable human economic activity directly in the World Ocean.

Scientists have found that the main route of pollution is river runoff (up to 65% of pollutants enter the oceans through rivers). About 25% comes from atmospheric precipitation, another 10% from wastewater, and less than 1% from emissions from ships. It is for these reasons that the oceans become polluted. The photos presented in this article clearly illustrate the severity of this pressing problem. Surprisingly, water, without which a person cannot live even a day, is actively polluted by it.

Types and main sources of pollution of the World Ocean

Environmentalists identify several types of ocean pollution. This:

physical;
biological (contamination by bacteria and various microorganisms);
chemical (pollution with chemicals and heavy metals);
oil;
thermal (pollution from heated waters discharged by thermal power plants and nuclear power plants);
radioactive;
transport (pollution from maritime transport - tankers and ships, as well as submarines);
household.

There are also various sources of pollution in the World Ocean, which can be either natural (for example, sand, clay or mineral salts) or anthropogenic in origin. Among the latter, the most dangerous are the following:

oil and petroleum products;
wastewater;
chemicals;
heavy metals;
radioactive waste;
plastic waste;
mercury.

Let's look at these pollutants in more detail.

Oil and petroleum products

The most dangerous and widespread today is oil pollution of the ocean. Up to ten million tons of oil are dumped into it annually. About two million more are carried into the ocean by river runoff.

The largest oil spill occurred in 1967 off the coast of Great Britain. As a result of the crash of the Torrey Canyon tanker, over 100 thousand tons of oil spilled into the sea.

Oil enters the sea during the drilling or operation of oil wells in the World Ocean (up to one hundred thousand tons per year). When it gets into sea water, it forms so-called “oil slicks” or “oil spills” several centimeters thick in the upper layer of the water mass. Namely, it is known that a very large number of living organisms live in it.

Amazingly, about two to four percent of the Atlantic is constantly covered with oil films! They are also dangerous because they contain heavy metals and pesticides, which further poison ocean waters.

Pollution of the World Ocean with oil and petroleum products has extremely negative consequences, namely:

disruption of energy and heat exchange between layers of water masses;
reduction in seawater albedo;
death of many marine life;
pathological changes in organs and tissues of living organisms.

Wastewater

Pollution of the World Ocean by wastewater is perhaps the second most harmful. The most dangerous are waste from chemical and metallurgical enterprises, textile and pulp factories, as well as agricultural complexes. At first they merge into rivers and other bodies of water, and later, one way or another, they end up in the World Ocean.

Specialists from two large cities - Los Angeles and Marseille - are actively working on solving this acute problem. Using satellite observations and underwater surveys, scientists monitor the volumes of discharged wastewater and also monitor its movement in the ocean.

Chemicals

Chemicals that enter this huge body of water through various routes also have a very negative impact on ecosystems. Pollution of the World Ocean with pesticides, in particular aldrin, endrin and dieldrin, is especially dangerous. These chemicals have the ability to accumulate in the tissues of living organisms, but so far no one can say exactly how they affect the latter.

In addition to pesticides, tributyltin chloride, which is used to paint the keels of ships, has an extremely negative impact on the organic world of the ocean.

Heavy metals

Environmentalists are extremely concerned about the pollution of the World Ocean with heavy metals. In particular, this is due to the fact that their percentage in sea waters has only been growing recently.

The most dangerous include heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, copper, nickel, arsenic, chromium and tin. So, now up to 650 thousand tons of lead enter the World Ocean every year. And the tin content in the planet’s sea waters is already three times higher than the generally accepted norm dictates.

Plastic waste

The 21st century is the era of plastic. Tons of plastic waste are now in the world's oceans, and their amount is only increasing. Few people know that there are entire “plastic” islands of enormous size. To date, five such “spots” are known - accumulations of plastic waste. Two of them are located in the Pacific Ocean, two more in the Atlantic, and one in the Indian.

Such waste is dangerous because its small parts are often swallowed by marine fish, as a result of which all of them, as a rule, die.

Radioactive waste

The consequences of pollution of the World Ocean with radioactive waste have been little studied, and therefore are extremely unpredictable. They get there in different ways: as a result of dumping containers with hazardous waste, testing nuclear weapons, or as a result of the operation of nuclear reactors on submarines. It is known that the Soviet Union alone dumped about 11,000 containers of radioactive waste into the Arctic Ocean between 1964 and 1986.

Scientists have calculated that today the world's oceans contain 30 times more radioactive substances than were released as a result of the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. Also, a huge amount of deadly waste entered the oceans after a large-scale accident at the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant in Japan.

Mercury

A substance such as mercury can also be very dangerous for the oceans. And not so much for the reservoir, but for the person who eats “seafood”. After all, it is known that mercury can accumulate in the tissues of fish and shellfish, turning into even more toxic organic forms.

Thus, the story of the Japanese Minamato Bay is notorious, where local residents were seriously poisoned by eating seafood from this reservoir. As it turned out, they were contaminated with mercury, which was dumped into the ocean by a nearby plant.

Thermal pollution

Another type of sea water pollution is the so-called thermal pollution. The reason for this is the discharge of waters whose temperature is significantly higher than the average in the Ocean. The main sources of heated water are thermal and nuclear power plants.

Thermal pollution of the World Ocean leads to disturbances in its thermal and biological regime, impairs fish spawning, and also destroys zooplankton. Thus, as a result of specially conducted studies, it was found that at water temperatures from +26 to +30 degrees, the vital processes of fish are inhibited. But if the temperature of sea water rises above +34 degrees, then some species of fish and other living organisms may even die.

Security

It is obvious that the consequences of intense pollution of sea waters can be catastrophic for ecosystems. Some of them are already visible even now. Therefore, a number of multilateral treaties have been adopted to protect the World Ocean, both at the interstate and regional levels. They include numerous activities, as well as ways to solve ocean pollution. In particular these are:

limiting emissions of harmful, toxic and noxious substances into the ocean;
measures aimed at preventing possible accidents on ships and tankers;
reduction of pollution from installations that take part in the development of the subsoil of the seabed;
measures aimed at quickly and efficiently eliminating emergency situations;
tightening sanctions and fines for unauthorized release of harmful substances into the ocean;
a set of educational and propaganda measures for the formation of rational and environmentally sound behavior of the population, etc.

Finally...

Thus, it is obvious that pollution of the World Ocean is the most important environmental problem of our century. And we must fight it. Today, there are many dangerous ocean pollutants: oil, petroleum products, various chemicals, pesticides, heavy metals and radioactive waste, wastewater, plastics and the like. Solving this acute problem will require the consolidation of all the forces of the international community, as well as clear and strict implementation of accepted standards and existing regulations in the field of environmental protection.

Humanity deals two blows to nature: firstly, it depletes resources, and secondly, it pollutes it. Not only land is affected, but also the ocean. The increasing exploitation of the World Ocean in itself has a strong impact on its ecosystem. However, there are also powerful external sources of pollution - atmospheric flows and continental runoff. As a result, today we can state the presence of pollutants not only in areas adjacent to continents and in areas of intense shipping, but also in open parts of the oceans, including the high latitudes of the Arctic and Antarctic. Let's consider the main sources of pollution of the World Ocean.

Oil and petroleum products. The main ocean pollutant is oil. Since the beginning of the 80s. About 16 million tons of oil enter the ocean annually, which is ~10% of its global production. As a rule, this is due to the transportation of oil from its production areas and leaks from wells (10.1 million tons of oil are lost this way every year). A large amount of oil enters the seas through rivers, with domestic and storm drains. The volume of pollution from this source is 12 million tons per year.

When oil enters the marine environment, it first forms layers of varying thickness and spreads in the form of a film, which changes the composition of the spectrum of sunlight penetrating into the water and the amount of light absorbed by the water. Thus, a film 40 microns thick completely absorbs the infrared radiation of the Sun, thereby disturbing the ecological balance and causing the death of marine organisms. The oil “glues” the feathers of birds, ultimately causing their death.

Mixing with water, it forms emulsions (“oil in water” and “water in oil”), which can be stored on the surface of the ocean, transported by currents, washed ashore and settled to the bottom.

Other ocean pollutants are pesticides - substances used to control pests and plant diseases, insecticides - to control harmful insects, fungicides and bactericides - to treat bacterial plant diseases, herbicides - substances used to kill weeds. About 11.5 million tons of these substances have already become part of terrestrial and marine ecosystems. The most notorious organochlorine insecticide is DDT. For the discovery of its “cidal” (from the Greek “to kill”) properties, scientists were awarded the Nobel Prize. But it soon became clear that many exterminated organisms are able to adapt to it, and DDT itself accumulates in the biosphere and is very resistant to biodegradation: its half-life (the time during which the original amount decreases by half) is tens of years. It was decided to ban the production and use of DDT (it was used in Russia until 1993, since there was nothing to replace it with), but it had already accumulated in the biosphere. Thus, noticeable doses of DDT were found even in the bodies of penguins. Fortunately, they are not included in the human diet. But DDT (or other pesticides) accumulated in fish, edible shellfish and algae, when entering the human body, can lead to very serious, sometimes tragic, consequences.

Synthetic surfactants or detergents are substances that lower the surface tension of water and are part of synthetic detergents, widely used in industry and in everyday life. Together with wastewater, synthetic surfactants enter continental waters and then into the marine environment. Synthetic detergents also contain other ingredients that are toxic to aquatic organisms: sodium polyphosphates, fragrances and bleaches (persulfates, perborates), soda ash, carboxymethylcellulose, sodium silicates, etc.

Heavy metals (mercury, lead, cadmium, zinc, copper, arsenic, etc.) are widely used in industrial production. They end up in the ocean with wastewater.