ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses some general statements about ocean pollution—a series of premises with which anyone is free to disagree—and then consider briefly the specific example of oil pollution and Georges Bank. The major impacts of oil pollution are probably not to be found in the acute oil spills that attract public attention, but rather in the long-term chronic oil contamination of estuarine/coastal waters from sewage plant effluents and sludges, other land runoff, deliberate discharges from vessels, and atmospheric fallout. The greatest public health concern related to petroleum contamination of marine animals is the presence and accumulation of carcinogens in the edible portions. Chlorinated hydrocarbons accumulate in the fatty tissues of adult marine animals, and high tissue concentrations in spawning adults can result in mortalities in developing eggs and larvae. Sediment hydrocarbon levels were high – 12.4 ppm napthalenes, 2.2 ppm total phenanthrenes in a total hydrocarbon load of 96 ppm.
