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CHAPTER I 



Ocean Dumping: Location, Quantities, 

 Composition, and Trends 



ABOUT 48 million tons of wastes were 

 . dumped at sea in 1&68. These wastes in- 

 cluded dredge spoils, industrial wastes, sew- 

 age sludge, construction and demolition 

 debris, solid waste, explosives, chemical muni- 

 tions, radioactive wastes, and miscellaneous 

 materials. This chapter indicates rapid in- 

 creases in ocean dumping activity over the 

 last two decades and the potential for great 

 increases in the future. At the same time, 

 ocean dumping of wastes from other sources 

 should decrease through implementation of 

 water quality standards and new Federal 

 laws dealing with control of sewage from ves- 

 sels and with oil pollution. 



DISPOSAL SITE LOCATIONS 



Data on disposal sites are still incomplete, 

 with little definitive information on sites off 

 Alaska and Hawaii and outside the U.S. con- 

 tiguous zone (more than 12 miles offshore). 

 There are almost 250 disposal sites off U.S. 

 coasts. Fifty percent are located off the At- 

 lantic Coast, 28 percent off the Pacific Coast, 

 and 22 percent in the Gulf of Mexico. Table 

 1 summarizes the number of sites for each 

 major area and the number of permits issued 

 for their use. The locations of the disposal 

 sites are indicated in Figure 1. 



Table 1. — Ocean Dumping: Site Location 

 Summary (32, 66) 



Not included in Table 1 are some 100 arti- 

 ficial reefs constructed by private concerns 

 under permits issued by the U.S. Army Corps 

 of Engineers. (66) These reefs, sometimes 

 formed of old car hulks or tires, are intended 

 to provide artificial shelters for fish. 



QUANTITIES AND TYPES 

 OF WASTES 



The categories of wastes covered in this re- 

 port are used because of the large quantities 

 of materials currently dumped, their poten- 

 tial for increase, or their special character- 

 istics, such as toxicity. The quantities for each 

 category are summarized by coastal region 

 in Table 2. Radioactive wastes and chemical 

 munitions are not included in the table be- 

 cause weight is not a meaningful descriptor. 

 Each, however, will be discussed later. 



The Bureau of Solid Waste Management 

 estimates that the data in Table 2 represent 

 about 90 percent of ocean dumping. However, 

 the data undoubtedly underestimate the size 

 and scope of the problem because of the time 

 lapse and the possibility of many small com- 

 munity operations or illicit operations by 

 private firms. Also not included in the table 

 are those wastes that are piped to sea. 



Each major category of ocean dumping 

 sources is now discussed and the possible 

 chemical composition of the wastes delineated 

 as an aid in evaluating their present and 

 potential effects on the marine en^^ironment. 



Dredge Spoils 



A large percentage of dredging is done di- 

 rectly by the Corps. The remainder is done by 

 private contractor under Corps permit. 

 Spoils are generally disposed of in open 

 coastal waters less than 100 feet deep. 



