The Role of the Oceans as a Waste Disposal Option

The central thesis of this paper is not whether it is right for some of the wastes of modern industrial civilisations to be disposed of in the oceans -because the natural flux of elements in the atmosphere and the rivers makes this process inevitable. It is rather about the choices'we can and should make about the pathways, quantities, rates and locations through and at which wastes enter the seas. It contends that these choices should depend upon objective and scientific evaluations as to the likely effects of particular substances in the sea, and accompanying social and economic evaluations of the acceptability of those effects compared with the consequences of adopting other options for disposal. There is a primary dichotomy in the choice of policy. It can be argued that because the oceans are regarded by many as the common heritage of mankind, and a resource shared among all nations, it is wrOI~ in principle for particular industrialised states to contaminate oceanic waters by discharging their wastes. This argument is often applied with particular vigour to categories of wastes which excite strong social emotions -among which radioactive substances are paramount. Holders of this philosophy would argue that no wastes should be deposited in, or released to, the seas if it can be avoided, and where unavoidable, all waste discharges should be reduced to that minimum which is achievable with the best available modern technology. Such an approach leads logically to the adoption of uniform, maximum emission standards which should not be exceeded anywhere -regardless of the state or dilution capacity of the receiving waters, and of the costs of using the technology -and to the progessive tightening of the standards as new technologies are developed. \* The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the United Kingdom Department of the Environment. G. Kullenberg (ed.), The Role of the Oceans as a Waste Disposal Option, 1-18. Front Matter....Pages i-ix The Oceans as a Waste Disposal Option - Management, Decision Making and Policy....Pages 1-18 Acceptable Environmental Change from Waste Disposal....Pages 19-26 Natural Variability and Waste Disposal Options....Pages 27-38 Basic Factors Affecting the Land/Freshwater Versus the Sea Option for Waste Disposal....Pages 39-53 Sewage Treatment and Disposal - Constraints and Opportunities....Pages 55-71 Engineering of Ocean Outfalls....Pages 73-109 Sewage Sludge Disposal Options....Pages 111-124 The Environmental Impact of Sludge Dumping at Sea and Other Disposal Options in the U.K. - Trace Metal Inputs....Pages 125-138 Freshwaters as Waste Disposal Systems: An Interpretation of the Experimental Lakes Area, Canada Whole-Ecosystem Experiments....Pages 139-163 A Comparison of Aquatic and Terrestrial Nutrient Cycling and Production Processes in Natural Ecosystems, with Reference to Ecological Concepts of Relevance to some Waste Disposal Issues....Pages 165-203 An Integrated Approach to Analyse the North Sea Ecosystem Behaviour in Relation to Waste Disposal....Pages 205-231 Experiences of the Federal Republic of Germany With Dumping of Sewage Sludge....Pages 233-242 The Izmit Bay Case Study....Pages 243-274 Sites for Effluent Outfall and Sludge Dumping in the Saronikos Gulf, Greece....Pages 275-284 A Comparative Study of Copper Cycles in Two Freshwater Environments....Pages 285-305 A Case Study of Waste Inputs in the Tagus Estuary....Pages 307-324 The Baltic Sea: Conditions and Options of Management....Pages 325-345 Ecological and Human Health Criteria for Cross Ecosystem Comparison of Waste Disposal Impacts....Pages 347-360 Organic Chemical Pollutants in the Oceans and Groundwater: A Review of Fundamental Chemical Properties and Biogeochemistry....Pages 361-425 Organo-Chlorines - A Review of Uses, Control and Disposal Options....Pages 427-440 Metal Pollution in the Great Lakes in Relation to their Carrying Capacity....Pages 441-468 Marine Disposal of Radioactive Waste: An Overview with Examples from the Coastal Water Situation....Pages 469-492 The Practice and Assessment of Sea Dumping of Radioactive Waste....Pages 493-515 Comparison of Land and Sea Disposal Options for Low and Intermediate Level Radioactive Wastes....Pages 517-544 Nuclear Waste Disposal: Ocean or Continental Crust?....Pages 545-550 Dispersal of Particulate Waste on an Open Continental Shelf....Pages 551-561 Hydrodynamical Modelling as a Tool in Waste Disposal Selection. A Case Study on Sado Estuary.....Pages 563-576 Disposal of Sewage in Dispersive and Non-Dispersive Areas: Contrasting Case Histories in British Coastal Waters....Pages 577-595 Mobility of Pollutants in Dredged Materials - Implications for Selecting Disposal Options....Pages 597-615 Measuring the Effects of Pollution at the Cellular and Organism Level....Pages 617-634 Biological Indices of Changes Including Primary Production....Pages 635-646 Physiological and Cellular Responses of Animals to Environmental Stress - Case Studies....Pages 647-665 Biological Effects Studies at Various Levels Along the U.S. Pacific Coast....Pages 667-690 Social Aspects of Waste Disposal....Pages 691-699 Summary of the Workshop....Pages 701-717 Back Matter....Pages 719-725 Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop, Vilamoura, Portugal, April 24-30, 1985