VI-243 



(6) Subtle, non-lethal effects of waste oroducts on 

 physiological and biochemical processes, such as enzyme 

 Induction or inhibition, ion transfer across membranes, 

 and chemosensitive reception should be studied. Such 

 effects may significantly influence the growth, reproduc- 

 tion, development, or survival of marine animals in ways 

 not detected by conventional assay or toxicity tests or 

 population studies. It is in this area of sub-lethal 

 effects that ocean disposal of wastes may encounter its 

 most serious problems. 



The Chemistry of Specific Pollutants 



(1) In view of increasing pollution by oil leakage and 

 bilge washings from ships, by catastrophic events such as 

 shipwrecks, and by oil seepage and operating wells on the 

 continental shelf, research is needed on: 



(a) natural biochemical processes responsible for 

 degradation of oil films or oil droolets; 



(b) techniques of analysis for detecting and 

 characterizing low concentrations of oil in water 

 and for identifying sources; 



(c) the effects of different oil dispersants in 

 degradation of the oil, the toxicity of dispersant 

 and dispersant-oil mixtures to marine organisms, 

 and the uptake of the oil, dispersant and/or disper- 

 sant-oil mixtures in the food chain; 



