ily! 
found for very young children.”’ The Federal Government, the states 
of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, and five environmental 
groups have brought suit against the Reserve Mining Company to 
force the company to discharge its ore processing waste on land. In 
recognition of the ‘‘very substantial public health menace,” on April 
20, 1974 U.S. District Court Judge Miles Lord ordered the firm to im- 
mediately cease operations. The immediate closing of the plant, which 
‘accounts for 15 percent of the iron ore produced in the United States, 
was considered a landmark decision by environmentalists. Although 
the district court ordered immediate cessation of Reserve’s dumpings, 
implementation of that order has been stayed by an appeals court. 
Heavy metals—Heavy metals play an important role in man’s 
industrial and technological progress. Coupled with their beneficial 
use, however, is the adverse effect they have as environmental poilut- 
ants. As pollutants, metals find their way into the ocean through 
many routes both direct and indirect. Direct introduction arises when 
metallic pollutants are discharged into the water by vessels, pumped 
mto estuaries or the sea from shore, or enter the ocean from aerial 
fallout. Indirect routes are taken by inland-release pollutants ‘carried 
to the oceans by rivers and streams. 
Natural weathering processes, industrial wastes, pesticides, and 
combustion of fuels account for much of the heavy metals entering 
the oceans. Although the heavy metal pollutants include virtually 
every metallic element, those of major importance are listed in Tables 
IV and V. Table IV compares the rate of supply from combustion of 
fossil fuels with natural processes and lists the metals in order of their 
toxicity. Table V lists metals concentrations currently found in the 
ocean. 
The industrial production of some heavy metals. and the rate of 
their transport to the oceans by rivers and the atmosphere is given in 
Table VI. Most of the heavy metals contaminating the coastal areas 
of the oceans are associated with the discharge of industrial wastes 
into streams, rivers, lakes, and estuaries. The Sea of Dokai in the Bay 
of Kita-Kyushu has become the most polluted waterway in Japan, if 
not the world. Concentrations of 448 ppm of cadmium and 551 ppm 
of mercury have been found in sludge samples taken there. Industrially 
discharged methyl mercury has also polluted the Sea of Ariake. Since 
the majority of the seafood consumed comes from estuaries and shelf 
areas, pollution in these regions is a direct threat to human health. 
Mercury poisoning from contaminated seafood has become a serious 
problem in Japan. 
Pesticides are another source of heavy metals pollution. While 
chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides are usually cited for their detri- 
mental side effects, pesticides of heavy metal compounds are also 
common. Fungicides are likely to contain metals such as copper, 
mercury, or zinc. Copper is often used in molluscicides or antifouling 
paints, and insecticides frequently contain lead or arsenic. Mercury 
has widespread agricultural use as a germicide or fungicide. There 
are many cases of mercury poisoning of marine wildlife and of humans 
who consumed contaminated seafood, but evidence has generally 
‘suggested industrial pollution as the primary source. 
