Ship wrecks and sea pollution

We treat the oceans like a giant dustbin, dumping huge amounts of waste in them everyday, often by way of rivers, drains and outflow pipes. This pollution includes human sewage and domestic waste water, factory outflows of acids and poisonous metals, engine oil from roadside drains and garages, farm chemicals washed off the land by rain, building-site rubble, nuclear waste from power plants, and oil from wells, refineries, and tankers. The daily flow of materials into the sea also includes a million plastic items, such as bags, nets, and bits of packaging. The oceans break up, disperse, or dissolve large quantities of waste. But there are limits. Most plastics never break down but just wash around coasts and islands for years. And there is no known way of getting rid of deadly substances such as the pesticide DDT (now widely banned) and PCBs ( a group of chemicals used in factories) once they enter the water. More than 3 million tonnes of oil end up in the sea each year, the result of a variety of human activities, most of which take place on land. More than a third is waste oil from city drains - mainly from cars and from factories. This is carried to the sea by rivers. Some oil evaporates off the land into the air and reaches the sea via weather systems in the circulation of the atmosphere. More comes from tankers, either during cleaning or from accidental spills. Leaks at oil wells are another source, and some oil seeps naturally from the seabed. Effects : Most sea pollution occurs near the coast, where so many species live, although traces of harmful chemicals have been found in the deepest parts of the ocean, and even in Antarctica. Plankton in the shallows take polluting materials into their bodies, and they are passed on to the fish and shellfish that eat plankton, to larger fish, sea mammals, and seabirds, and eventually to humans who eat fish and seafood. At each stage of the food chain, the poisons can become more concentrated and therefore deadly. Ocean pollution results in smaller catches of fish all over the world, either by killing fish directly, preventing them from breeding, or causing birth abnormalities. Seabirds are unable to breed and whales are poisoned. Pollution also seems to be responsible for a new disease among seals. Without even swallowed, plastic can kill seabirds, turtles, and other creatures by trapping them. People drinking water from polluted seas can become sick. Deadly infectious diseases like cholera and typhoid can break out. Prevention : Diseases have been stamped out in rich countries, where human waste is treated before it is released into rivers and lakes. Water for drinking is also treated after it is pumped out of rivers and lakes, before piped to homes. In Singapore, waste water is treated in Ulu Pandan, Senoko and Tuas Sewage Treatment Works. However, this is not the case in poor countries. More than 90 countries have now signed the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from ships (or MARPOL, from marine pollution), which was first set up in 1973. MARPOL limits the amounts of oil, sewage, poisonous waste, and rubbish that ships can release into the sea. Several other agreements signed during the 1960s and 1970s are still important today. The Bonn Agreement (1969) aimed to protect coastal areas around the North Sea, and the Helsinki Convention (1974) did the same for the Baltic Sea. The London dumping Convention (1972) banned the dumping of fuel oil, chemical weapons materials, nuclear waste, and other dangerous substances. You can also help reduce sea pollution and clean up our rivers and coasts by: · Do not leave rubbish in streams, rivers, or the sea, or on beaches. · Dispose of all plastic carefully. · Reduce waste: reuse and recycle as much as you can. · Ask your family to use safer household cleaning products containing fewer harmful chemicals. · Help a conservation group clean up local rivers and beaches. · Join an organization that is campaigning against river and sea pollution.

It seems like a good idea, and if you say it has been there for 30years then it is criminal that they don't use it, there has been so much damage over the years with the oil from ships...maybe the ship builders will read your discussion and do something, lets hope...

Hello Bart. We use the same thing here in the United States. I think they are called booms. They basically float on the water and keep the spill contained until it is sucked up. I'm sure Britan uses this technology. The only reason for not using it would be rough waters or bad terrain. Lloyd