Table 6 

 (National Academy of Sciences, 1971b) 

 Estimated Involvement of Organic Substances 

 with the Marine Environment 



2. Investigation of the pathways and rates at which known synthetic 

 organic chemicals are disseminated and how they move through the 

 ecosystem should be conducted. 



3. Research is needed on the toxicity and biological impact of known 

 levels of pollutants. Such studies should go beyond determining lethal 

 levels of pollutants. The overall welfare of marine communities such as 

 primary production rates or the genetic pool, may be greatly influenced 

 by sub-lethal concentrations. 



4. The fate of pollutants at the sites of final deposition and rates of 

 degradation need to be determined and appropriate models developed. 



60 



