industry, and the general public: by providing technical assistance, train- 

 ing and consultation to the regulatory agencies, industry, and the general 

 public: and by developing standards and promulgating appropriate 

 regulations. 



Since many marine species are particularly sensitive to pollutants. 

 they can often be used in studies of hazards to humans. By studying the 

 effect of a pollutant on a marine species, it is possible to develop ad- 

 vance information on possible threats to human health. Scientists at the 

 National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences of the National In- 

 stitutes of Health have performed studies of the physiological mechan- 

 isms of transport, accumulation, metabolism, and excretion of pollutants 

 by a variety of marine and estuarine organisms. The results of such 

 studies are made available to regulatory agencies such as EPA and the 

 Food and Drug Administration. 



FDA is involved in special studies geared to improving the quality of 

 the Nation's marine food supply. Based on the results of its own research 

 and that of other agencies. FDA develops shellfish cultivation, harvest- 

 ing, processing, and shipping standards and promulgates appropriate 

 regulations. 



INSTRUMENT DEVELOPMENT FOR POLLUTION DETECTION 



A vital element in pollution abatement programs is the development 

 of new instrumentation for detecting pollution. Remote sensors appear 

 promising for this purpose because of the vastness of ocean surfaces. 



The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) 

 develops remote-sensing capabilities for aerospace applications con- 

 cerned with environmental quality monitoring, NASA, although it has 

 no statutory responsibility for pollution abatement and control, cooper- 

 ates with other agencies in the demonstration and transfer of its remote- 

 sensing technology. 



NASA research and development efforts in remote sensing have been 

 concerned with both passive and active techniques. Passive techniques 

 are those where phenomena are observed by emitted electromagnetic 

 radiation or reflected solar radiation. Thus, only a receiver or 

 electromagnetic radiation, such as a camera or a radiometer, is required 

 as a remote sensor. In the active techniques, radiation transmitters, such 

 as lasers in the visible and near visible portions of the spectrum and 

 radar devices at microwave frequencies, illuminate matter for receivers. 



Both passive and active remote-sensing techniques have been used, 

 for example, in the detection of oil spills. Passive devices have detected 

 the oil by differences in the reflection of solar radiation from an oil slick 

 and the surrounding water. These differences have also been detected 

 by differences in the polarization of reflected sunlight. As most oils 



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