The Impact of Pollution on the Ocean

To the United States Environmental Agency

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 Kassie Seiler

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Table Of Contents
Abstract pg 3
The Impacts of Pollution on the pg 3
Ocean
What can we do to Eliminate pg 5
Pollutants
How to Solve the Pollution pg 6
Problem
Conclusion pg 6
References pg 7
Abstract
The Impacts of Pollution on the Ocean
Figure 1
What can we do to Eliminate Pollutants?
Figure 2
Conclusion
References
Table Of Figures
Figure 1 pg 4
Figure 2 pg 5

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Abstract
Our oceans make up over 75% of water that is on our planet. This water is important in
our lives in many ways, habitats for animals, a food source, and even had cultural
representations. This white paper will discuss the problem of ocean pollution and solutions to
the problem. There are many different organizations that have made it their priority to help
with ocean pollution cleanup. Along with these many organizations there are people all over
the world who are very passionate about ocean cleanup as well. The Ocean Cleanup is one of
these organizations that is currently developing many technologies that can be used to clean
our oceans. So far this organization alone has been able to remove 500,000 football fields of
waste from the ocean (2022). With the help of organizations like these and other concerned
citizens, there is great potential to lessen the problem of ocean pollution.

Problem
The Impacts of Pollution on the Ocean
There are many different types of
pollutants that effect our oceans, some of
these include chemical runoff, plastics, and
oil spills. According to the Global
Environmental Health Newsletter, “More
than 80% of ocean pollution comes from
land-based sources, making its way to the
seas through runoff, rivers, atmospheric
deposition, and direct discharges. It is most
highly concentrated along the coasts of low-
and middle-income countries” (Avakian).
There are also different sources of pollution,
nonpoint source pollution and point source
pollution. Nonpoint Source Pollution is
pollution that is a result from runoff from
things like vehicles, septic tanks,
farms/ranches, and timber harvest areas.
Point Source Pollution comes from a single
source like oil or chemical spills which often
have large impacts (Ocean pollution and
marine debris 2020).

Another source of pollutants is an

excess of elements like nitrogen and

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phosphorus. These two elements are essential for plant growth but in large quantities can be
extremely harmful to the oceans and the organisms in it. High quantities of these two elements
can cause harmful algal blooms, also known as “red tide..” Figure 1 is a photo of how red tide
looks from a higher elevation, you can clearly see the discoloration is causes to the water. You
do not just have to be at a higher elevation to see the effects red tide has, along the coast you
are able to see the impacts it has on wildlife in the ocean through their death. Here in the
United States, it is very common to hear about a red tide happening in the summertime along
Florida’s west coast and up into the Gulf of Mexico. According to the National Ocean Service,
“The toxins can be suspended in the air near beaches and cause human respiratory illness. They
can also accumulate in shellfish and cause Neurotoxic Shellfish Poisoning in humans, so affected
states closely monitor shellfish and may close harvesting for a period of time to protect public
health. Blooms also discolor the water and cause widespread mortality of fish, turtles, birds,
and marine mammals. While these events are most frequent in coastal regions of southwest
Florida, they occur to a lesser extent throughout the Gulf region” (US Department of
Commerce, 2019).

Figure 1. Image of Red Tide off the coast of Florida

Between the many types of pollutants and high levels of elements, like nitrogen and
phosphorus, they are causing harm too our ocean environments in more ways than one. In the
quote above the author mentioned that the high levels of elements causing the red tide pose
problems, like water discoloration and mortality to organisms, but also to humans as well.

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When it comes to nonpoint source pollutants and point source pollutants these can also cause
harm in many ways. Point source pollutants can be very detrimental to the environment as it
can take years to clean these pollutants up, and they are very difficult to clean. These pollutants
harm both the environment and organisms, many die when disasters like oil spills occur.
Nonpoint source pollutants may be easier to clean up but have been piling into our oceans for
so long that there is so much to clean up. These nonpoint source pollutants are things like
plastics, tires, rope, and many other examples; sometimes marine organisms can mistake some
of these items as food and ingest them or even get stuck in them causing serious issues and
even death.

Solutions
What can we do to Eliminate Pollutants?

There are many things we can do to solve the problem of pollutants entering our oceans
and to clean up what is already there. There are many organizations that are taking giant steps
in the right direction for this. One organization that is taking steps in cleaning up our oceans
and finding ways to prevent more pollutants from entering the ocean is The Ocean Cleanup.
This nonprofit organization has made the cleanup of pollutants of all sizes possible with their
new technology. According to The Ocean Cleanup “Our floating systems are designed to
capture plastics ranging from small pieces, just millimeters in size, up to large debris, including
massive, discarded fishing nets (ghost nets), which can be tens of meters wide” (Slat &
Peytavin, 2022). With their technologies they plan to be able to remove 90% of ocean pollution
by 2040.

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Figure 2. The Ocean Cleanup System 002

Many of these organizations also sell items to help with the removal of ocean pollution.
One company that is well known for this is 4Ocean. This organization sells things like bracelets,
necklaces, beach chairs, tote bags, and even phone cases; all of which are made from recycled
materials. From the profits they receive from the sale of their items, it sponsors the removal of
one pound of pollution from coastlines, rivers, and oceans. On their website 4Ocean states
“Through worldwide support and the purchase of 4ocean products, we’ve pulled 21,770,496
pounds of trash have been recovered from the ocean, rivers, and coastlines thanks to the
ongoing support of the clean ocean movement” (The 4Ocean Bracelet).

These two organizations are just two of the many of other like them that are out there. It takes
more than just organizations like these to stop pollution entering the oceans, it starts at home.
There are many things we can do, like stop or lessening the use of single use plastics,
supporting these organizations, and even attending trash cleanups. One of the most important
things that we can do at home is to spread the word about how pollution is affecting our
oceans and by supporting local legislation on the issue (Hutchinson, 2022).

How to Solve the Pollution Problem

Through the support of organizations like 4Ocean and the Ocean Cleanup, we will be able to
reduce the amount of pollution in our oceans. The Ocean Cleanup System 002 is making a huge
impact on reducing the amount of pollution already in our oceans. If there were several of
these systems in place around the world, the impact would be tremendous.

Conclusion
There are many different types of pollutants that effect our oceans. From nonpoint
source pollution and point source pollution, both of which affect our oceans negatively, to high
levels of elements like nitrogen and phosphorus. There are many different organizations that
are working towards removing pollution from the ocean, but it all starts with us at home. We
need to do our best to help support these organizations and to reduce the use of items that
could cause more pollution in the future.

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References

Avakian, M. (n.d.). New study finds ocean pollution a threat to human health. National Institute
of Environmental Health Sciences. Retrieved March 15, 2022, from
https://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/programs/geh/geh_newsletter/2021/2/articles/
new_study_finds_ocean_pollution_a_threat_to_human_health.cfm#:~:text=Ocean
%20pollution%20is%20a%20complex%20mixture%20made%20up%20of
%20mercury,mainly%20by%20eating%20contaminated%20seafood.

Hutchinson, B. (2022, March 1). 7 ways to reduce Ocean Plastic Pollution Today. Oceanic
Society. Retrieved March 17, 2022, from https://www.oceanicsociety.org/resources/7-
ways-to-reduce-ocean-plastic-pollution-today/?
utm_term=sea+pollution&utm_campaign=Blog&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=pp
c&hsa_acc=8843096923&hsa_cam=9497057995&hsa_grp=132772072286&hsa_ad=5855
57513974&hsa_src=g&hsa_tgt=kwd-
29165260&hsa_kw=sea+pollution&hsa_mt=b&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gclid=Cj0
KCQjwuMuRBhCJARIsAHXdnqPOHEQiJ1zfqwUVjKlXg-
0k2QM11bZFNb3JgopO59yQN2ghQ3rWTtAaAjTdEALw_wcB

Ocean pollution and marine debris. Ocean pollution and marine debris | National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration. (2020). Retrieved March 15, 2022, from
https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/ocean-coasts/ocean-pollution

Slat, B., & Peytavin, A. (2022, February 11). Oceans • the ocean cleanup. The Ocean Cleanup.
Retrieved March 17, 2022, from https://theoceancleanup.com/oceans/

The Ocean Cleanup sunglasses: Now out of stock. The Ocean Cleanup. (2022, March 1).
Retrieved March 15, 2022, from https://products.theoceancleanup.com/

The 4ocean bracelet - every purchase pulls a pound of plastic from our. 4ocean. (n.d.). Retrieved
March 17, 2022, from https://www.4ocean.com/?
gclid=Cj0KCQjwuMuRBhCJARIsAHXdnqMzY7F5bO_LGG15OYdCysEMBFmMA5J1
BRYmVEMNE2sfiR2geweniRUaAiTMEALw_wcB

US Department of Commerce, N. O. and A. A. (2019, April 10). Gulf of mexico: Harmful algal
blooms. NOAA's National Ocean Service. Retrieved March 15, 2022, from
https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/hazards/hab/gulf-mexico.html