INTRODUCTION 



This is the fourth report on a series of invest! g-ations 

 conducted by the Woods Hole Ooeanographic Institution in co- 

 operation with the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and sponsored 

 by the National Research Council. The three previous reports 

 have been: 



1. Preliminary report on the acid-iron waste disposal by 

 Bostwick H. Ketchum and Tiilliam L. Ford. Special processed report 

 of the Woods Hole Ooeanographic Institution. 



2. A survey of the sports fishery of the Middle Atlantic 

 Bight in 1948 by Raymond J. Buller and Harlan S. Spear. United 

 States Departanent of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, 

 Special Scientific Report - Fisheries No. 7, 



3. Drift bottle releases off New Jersey. A preliminary 

 report on experiments begun in 1948 by John R. Webster and Raymond 

 J. Buller* United States Department of the Interior, Fish and 

 Wildlife Service, Special Scientific Report - Fisheries No, 10. 



These studies have been conoemed primarily with the effects 

 of waste disposal operations at sea begun by the National Lead Company 

 in April 1948. By disposing of a solution of sulphuric acid and 

 ferrous sulphate at sea in quantities on the order of 3,000 tons each 

 day, they have created many problems for study. At the same time in 

 the Marine District of New Jersey and New York the growing conflict 

 among the sports fisheries, public health, and the disposal of sewage, 

 sewage effluents and industrial wastes has spotrlighted a similar 

 situation which has led us to consider secondarily the general problem 

 of waste disposal at sea. 



THE POPULATIONS OF BOTTCM ANIMALS 



Prior to the commencement of the disposal of acid-iron waste at 

 sea, the claim was made that the operation would create a biological 

 desert in the vicinity where it was dumped. "Oiis study was planned 

 to determine the numbers of bottom animals before and after the 

 commencement of disposal operations and thereby affirm or refute the 

 claim. Early studies of the dispersal of the waste effluent behind 

 the disposal barge showed that the waste was mixed with the upper 

 50 feet of water and btiffered rapidly by the slightly alkaline sea 

 water. "Hie possibility, nevertheless, remained that a bubble of the 

 acid would reach the bottom, and even though this might happen rarely 

 it could have a serious effect on the animal populations. 



