Seabed disposal
Seabed disposal refers to the practice of dumping waste materials into the open sea or burying them on the ocean floor. This method has been considered by some as a solution to the increasing scarcity of landfill space on land. However, it raises significant environmental concerns, as the disposal of toxic or radioactive waste, discarded chemicals, and heavy metals can disrupt marine ecosystems and endanger marine life. Despite the historical belief that the ocean's vastness could safely dilute waste, scientific research has demonstrated that seabed disposal poses risks to delicate ocean ecosystems.
International agreements, such as the London Convention, have sought to regulate and ban the dumping of hazardous materials in the ocean. While high-level radioactive waste dumping was banned in 1972 and expanded in 1994, some countries, like Russia, have continued to engage in such practices. Additionally, past dumping sites, even after ceasing operations, often retain hazardous materials that can affect local marine life. Current discussions also involve alternatives like subseabed disposal, which proponents argue could be a safer option for certain types of waste, although it presents challenges regarding retrieval and transportation. Overall, seabed disposal remains a contentious issue reflecting the balance between waste management needs and environmental protection.
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Seabed disposal
DEFINITION: Dumping of waste materials into the open sea or burial of such materials in the ocean floor
The seabed disposal of debris, containers of toxic or radioactive waste, discarded chemicals, heavy metals, and other harmful wastes can jeopardize marine life by disrupting the balance of delicate ocean ecosystems.
Oceans cover more than 75 percent of the earth’s surface. People have long believed that the vast ocean waters can dilute, redistribute, and render harmless any garbage, sewage, or other debris dumped into them. As landfill space becomes increasingly scarce, many have looked to the oceans and their tremendous beds as alternative sites for disposal. However, marine biologists and other scientists have learned that the oceans can be harmed by waste disposal. Like the land, which is a network of many different ecosystems, the oceans are made up of many ecosystems serving a variety of marine life. Many marine creatures and their habitats exist in a delicate ecological balance; any change in water quality, temperature, or food source is harmful.
In an effort to protect marine creatures and the balance of ocean ecosystems, many countries have worked together to stop ocean and open-ocean dumping. The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (known as MARPOL, for “marine pollution”) outlaws the dumping of plastic items anywhere in the oceans. It also regulates how far from shore ships must be in order to other kinds of debris legally. Much of this debris eventually settles on the seabed.
Also scattered across the seabed are containers of hazardous waste, chemicals, and radioactive waste. At one time scientists believed that the ocean floor would be a safe place for the disposal of sealed containers of these wastes; they argued that the materials would not come into contact with marine life at such depths and that the extremely cold temperatures of the deep ocean would keep the wastes safely contained. Dump sites for radioactive waste are located in the far northern parts of the Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. After World War II, several thousand tons of German chemical weapons, undetonated bombs, and other equipment were dumped in the waters off the coasts of Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Poland. In 1972 the international Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter (known as the London Convention) banned ocean dumping of high-level radioactive wastes. In 1994 this ban was expanded to cover low-level radioactive wastes. Despite this agreement, Russia continued to dump large amounts of radioactive waste into the Barents and Kara seas.
Research has shown that the dumping of sealed containers of chemicals into the ocean, even in deep waters, poses threats to the environment. For example, several sites for ocean dumping of industrial wastes were established in the middle of fishing grounds off the coast of New England and used for twenty years. Although toxic and radioactive wastes are no longer dumped in these areas, years later they are still marked as hazardous because of the incredible staying power of the chemicals dumped. Unlike matter, chemicals do not break down quickly over time. Despite warnings, some people still harvest fish, shrimp, and shellfish from these areas. In a joint effort among several state and federal agencies, seafood from these areas and the surrounding waters was collected and tested for dangerous levels of hazardous or toxic chemicals. Tests performed by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) showed only trace contaminants in the seafood—none of the samples tested had levels high enough to pose threats. When the anchor was pulled aboard a boat at one location, however, its tip had traces of waste that was high enough in to set off the sensors worn by the study participants.
A video survey was taken of one site, known as the Foul Area, 29 kilometers (18 miles) off the coast of Boston, Massachusetts. The 3.2-kilometer (2-mile) expanse is officially named the Massachusetts Bay Industrial Waste Site. From 1953 to 1976 it served as a dumping ground for toxic and radioactive materials. The survey, taken in 1991, found almost one hundred objects scattered across the ocean floor at eighteen separate sites. Of these objects, sixty-four were identified as cement containers, and more than one-half of them had broken open over time.
Some scientists now advocate subseabed burial as an alternative to seabed dumping. Proposed mostly for high-level radioactive materials, subseabed disposal is argued to be safer than core-drilled burial on land. Proponents argue that the deep seabed is one of the most geologically stable places on the earth. They also argue that the sticky mud and clays found in the mid- and deep-ocean basins cause radioactive particles to cling to or bind with them, keeping them from migrating throughout the ocean waters. The results of tests conducted between 1974 and 1986 by an international team of scientists support these arguments. Opponents note that if any of the materials disposed of deep in the seabed should need to be retrieved, this process would be extremely difficult and costly. They also question the types of containers to be used and how the wastes can be safely transported to the seabed. While proponents were making progress in addressing these concerns, research funding was cut off in 1986 and the focus of decisions regarding disposal of radioactive wastes returned to land-based solutions. Although the London Convention has prohibited the dumping of radioactive waste at sea since 1994, subseabed disposal remains ambiguous, as do its effects on the ocean environment.
In 1996, organizations came together to revise and modernize the London Convention. Under this new policy, named the London Protocol, all dumping except for materials on the "reverse list" is prohibited. The London Convention took effect on March 24, 2006.
Bibliography
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