130 



Table 8. — Composition of Solid Waste {28) 



Type of waste 



Paper products 



Food \rastes 



Metals 



Glass and ceramics 



Garden wastes 



Rock, dirt, and ash 



Plastics, rubber, and leather 



Textiles 



Wood 



Total 



Average 

 (percent) 



The percentage of pollutants in solid waste is 

 not nearly as high as in sewage sludge or 

 dredge spoils, but it does contain nutrients, 

 oxygen-demanding materials, and heavy 

 metals. Laboratory studies of water contami- 

 nated by solid waste have shown significant 

 quantities of heavy metals, with zinc, nickel, 

 and magnesium present in concentrations of 

 13, .27, and 378 parts pev million respectively. 

 (29) These concentrations are well above 

 toxic levels for marine life. 



Up to 50 percent of solid waste is usually 

 paper, wood, plastics, and rubber, all of which 

 can float to the surface. Particularly signifi- 

 cant are the plastics which will not become 

 water soaked and will not degrade for many, 

 perhaps even hundreds, of years. Even if 

 baled before ocean disjDosal, it is almost cer- 

 tain that over time the bales will disintegrate 

 and the floatables will rise to the surface. The 

 potential esthetic problems of large quanti- 

 ties of solid wastes floating- to the surface and 



Explosives and Chemical Munitions 



Unserviceable or obsolete shells, mines, solid 

 rocket fuels, and chemical warfare agents 

 have been disposed of in deep water for many 

 years. In 1963, the Navy initiated Operation 



"CHASE," in which munitions were disposed 

 of by sinking them in obsolete hulks. Since 

 then, 19 gutted World War II Liberty ships 

 containing munitions have been scuttled. In 

 the last six operations, the weapons were to 

 detonate, but the S.S. ROBERT LOUIS 

 STEVENSON failed to do so as planned and 

 is located on the continental shelf near Alaska 

 in 2,200 feet of water. 



Since 1964 at least 18,342 tons of ammuni- 

 tion and explosives have been dumped in this 

 manner. Additional cargoes of approxi- 

 mately 35,000 tons containing an unknown 

 proportion of net explosives were also scut- 

 tled. A detailed listing of the ships scuttled, 

 their cargoes, and disposition are shown in 

 Table 9. 



Detonation of explosives can result in trace 

 amounts of lead, nickel, bronze, and other 

 metals in the water, depending on corrosion 

 processes and the materials used in the 

 munitions. 



Radioactive Wastes 



Most nuclear waste products are liquid and 

 of low radioactivity. They consist mostly of 

 decontaminated process and cooling waters 

 from reactors, fuel processing, and other 

 operations. Small amounts of liquid wastes 

 are liighlj' radioactive ; they result from the 

 reprocessing of reactor fuel elements. 



Solid radioactive wastes are produced by 

 contamination of equij^ment and other mate- 

 rials during nuclear power plant operations, 

 from medical use, and by research and devel- 

 opment activities. 



Solid radioactive wastes have been buried 

 in carefully controlled landfill sites. Low- 

 level liquid nuclear wastes are treated and/or 

 stored to reduce radioactivity before dis- 

 posal. High-level liquid wastes are stored ex- 

 clusively in tanks at land-based sites. 



