3. Anthropogenic Thermal Effects on the Population of the Sea . 

 (S. A. Mileikovsky)* 



One component of anthropogenic pollution of marine coastal and 

 estuarine waters is so-called "thermal pollution," the dumping of heated 

 water into the sea, after it has passed through the water-cooling 

 systems of electric power plants and industrial enterprises. Evaluating 

 the influence of various components of anthropogenic pollution of sea 

 water on its living resources, Dybern (1974) included thermal pollution 

 in the second most harmful category of "significant pollution factors" 

 of the sea. 



Special studies and calculations have shown that as the power of an 

 electric power plant or industrial enterprise increases, the available 

 reserves of fresh water become insufficient to support normal operation 

 of the water-cooling system. Due to this, an increasing number of these 

 enterprises will be placed on the shores of estuaries and bays, 

 utilizing the more abundant supplies of water which they provide. For 

 example, it was calculated for the USA (Picton, 1960) that by 1980, 32% 

 of all thermal electric power plants in the nation would be located near 

 estuaries. This tendency toward placement of electric power plants and 

 industrial enterprises along the sea coast means that the volume of 

 thermal pollution of marine coastal and estuarine waters will increase 

 and its significance as an ecologic factor will grow. 



3.1 Amount of Thermal Pollution of Marine Coastal and Estuarine 

 Waters, Temperature of Waters Dumped and Changes in" 

 Temperature of Natural Waters which Result 



The total amount of thermal pollution of the sea has never been 

 calculated, although some idea of the scale of the phenomenon can be 

 gained on the basis of a number of data. Along the east coast of the 

 USA by late 1968 there were 86 electric power plants burning fossil fuel 

 (coal, oil), dumping their heated water into estuaries, bays and fresh 

 water bodies near the sea (Sorge, 1969). On the west coast of the USA, 

 electric power plants with a total power capacity of 17.2 million kW 

 were dumping their heated waters into the sea, and in California the 

 capacity of these power plants represented 85% of the total electric 

 power generating capacity in the state (North, Adams, 1969). It has 

 been calculated (Mihursky et al . , 1970) that in the USA some 4 million 

 m'^ of fresh and sea water are utilized for water cooling of electric 

 power plants and industrial enterprises e\/ery minute of every day; the 

 temperature of the water dumped is 5 to 15°C higher than the temperature 

 of the natural waters receiving the heated water. 



*Deceased. 



421 



