Invisible Pollutants

While garbage patches are dramatic illustrations of the volume of solid waste that humans allow to escape into our oceans, they are matched by pollutants that are not visible in the vast ocean, but do just as much damage. There are two categories for soluble pollutants. The first category is direct discharges. These come from places such as sewage treatment facilities, industrial facilities, boat bilges and “grey water”.[1] Direct discharges are examples of humanity intentionally using the ocean as a dumping ground.

 

The second category is runoff. Runoff includes fertilizer, pesticides, herbicides, oil from vehicles that ends up in storm drains, industrial chemicals, and trace metals.  Runoff is generally the unintentional consequence or at least an error of omission where controlling these pollutants is deemed less important that applying them for some usually more economically driven end. When talking about runoff the most commonly discussed type is oil. Oil is somewhat natural, and ultimately a part of the environment.  It is estimated that up to half of the oil in the Ocean comes from natural seeps along the ocean floor, not spills.  

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[1] Grey water, which can also be spelled at ‘greywater’ or ‘gray water’, is the recycling of waster water that comes from commercial buildings when water is used for things like laundry, dishes, or bathing. It is different from black water as black water is used for toilets and found in sewer systems.