Coastal/Marine Pollution by Saumya Mishra

Coastal pollution
 Types
 Causes and Sources
 Coastal pollution in the world
 Coastal pollution in India
 Causes of coastal pollution in India
 Impacts

IMO/FAO/UNESCO/WMO/WHO/IAEA/UN/UNEP
Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of
Marine Pollution (GESAMP, 1991b)-
"Marine pollution means the introduction by man, directly or
indirectly, of substances or energy into the marine
environment (including estuaries) resulting in such deleterious
effects as harm to living resources, hazards to human health,
hindrance to marine activities including fishing, impairment of
quality for use of sea water and reduction of amenities.”

 About 60% of the world’s people live within 100 km of the coastline
and are highly dependent on all kinds of coastal ecosystem services
(Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005).
 Rapidly urbanizing and industrializing coastal areas face serious
ecosystem pressure, especially those with relatively weak water
circulation, reflected by lower pH and dissolved oxygen, high levels of
nutrients and petroleum hydrocarbons in seawater.

Chemical
Pollution
Toxic Pollution
Non-toxic Pollution
Mixed Pollution
Physical
Pollution
Thermal Pollution
Noise Pollution
Light Pollution
Radioactive Pollution

Biological
Pollution
Disappearance of certain species
Introduction of alien species
Destruction
of habitat
(biotopes)
Extraction
Creation of artificial coastal territories
Hydro-engineering construction
Development of coastal land (building houses)
Deforestation in coastal zone
Destruction of coral reefs

1. Bacteria and viruses (pathogens)
2. Oxygen depleting substances- sewage, other carbon based waste
and dissolved carbon-based material
3. Toxic substances, such as:-
a) Heavy metals
b) Arsenic
c) Cadmium
d) Cobalt
e) Copper
f) Lead
4. Nutrients (nitrates, phosphates)
5. Hot water discharge from power plants
6. Alien species, such as European Green Crab
7. Trash (Plastic bags, balloons, medical waste, soda cans etc)
8. Noise, especially noise that interferes with marine mammals’
communication and hearing.

 Non-point source pollution is polluted runoff entering
waterways from diffuse land base activities. It is the
leading cause of water quality degradation to coastal
waters (Pew Oceans Report, 2003).

1. Runoff from farm lands and managed forests that carry fertilizer,
excess nutrients, pesticides and herbicides, salts in irrigation water,
and crop residues.
2. Runoff from agricultural areas that carries nutrients, animal wastes,
manure, pathogens (bacteria and viruses).
3. Runoff from cities that carry heavy metals, carbon-based chemicals
such as oil from highways, fertilizer and pet waste from backyards and
sidewalks, and detergent.
4. Acid mine drainage
5. Hydromodification. It changes a water body’s physical structure as
well as its natural function. These changes can cause problems such
as change in flow, increased sedimentation, higher water temp. etc.
6. Marinas and boating facilities
7. Atmospheric deposition of sediments and chemicals carried by wind.
8. Sand, silt and clays (sediments) eroded from land
9. Groundwater discharge which can include all types of pollutants,
including water from faulty septic systems.

 The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines
point source pollution as “any single identifiable source of
pollution from which pollutants are discharged, such as pipe,
ship or factory”

1. Sewer cut falls
2. Concentrated animal feeding operations
3. Sanitary sewer overflows
4. Storm water
5. Oil spills
6. Industry and sewage waste discharges
7. Discharge from boats
8. Dumping of ballast water from ships

Why should I worry
about coastal
pollution?

Coastal pollution can have both ecological and human health impacts:-
1. Loss of aquatic species diversity.
2. Coral reef degradation
3. Eutrophication and formation of dead zones (UNEP has identified
150 dead zones worldwide)
4. Fish kills
5. Sea grass bed declines
6. Algal blooms (including toxic algae) and Red Tide
7. Shellfish bed and swimming beach closures

8. Damaged mangroves & sea grass beds render coastal areas more
vulnerable to storms & natural disasters events- significant
economical & ecological damage.
9. Loss of infrastructure
10. Commercial viability of the ports are compromised.
11. Less attractive coastal environment- decreasing tourism- shrinking
coastal economy.
12. Food and employment shortages
13. Biomagnification

Great Barrier Reef: Horrific coral bleaching due to global warming
The warnings about global
warming have been extremely
clear for a long time. We are
facing a global climate crisis. It
is deepening. We are entering
a period of consequences.
-Al Gore

Plastic waste inputs from land into the oceans

1. Sewage Effluents
 Over 300 million people living in coastal zones of India generate 1.11 x
1010 m3 of sewage annually.
 As per the CPCB data nine coastal states, Andaman and Nicobar
Island, and Pondicherry generate around 7663 MLD (million litters a
day) of sewage. Out of this only 1073 MLD (14%) is being treated or
passed through treatment process. The balance (86%) reaches coastal
water untreated and is biggest source of pollution

31%
9%
5%
5%
50%
Mumbai
Ahmedabad
Chennai
Surat
Others
Municipal wastewater: share of major coastal
cities in India
Source: Central Pollution Control Board

 The total fertilizer consumption in coastal states in year 2013-
14 was 12074000 tonnes.
 Andhra Pradesh ranks number one among coastal states
consuming 25% chemical fertilizers of the total, followed by
Maharashtra (23%) and Gujarat (13%).
 It means around 35kg/day organochlorine and 256kg/day
organophosphorus to coastal waters in terms of pollution load.
 The state of Maharashtra (29%) ranks first among the coastal
states for the consumption of pesticides followed by Telangana
(27.2%), Gujarat (6.2%) and Tamilnadu (6%).
 Impacts- Eutrophication, algal blooms, red tide

0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
Quantity of fertilzers in
'000 tonnes
29th Report on Impact of Chemical
Fertilizers and Pesticides on Agriculture
and Allied Sectors in the country

0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
Quantity of Chemical Pesticides (in million tonnes)
Source:- 29th Report on Impact of Chemical Fertilizers and Pesticides on
Agriculture and Allied Sectors in the country

 There is a high concentration of large and medium industries within
the narrow coastal belt of 25 km width than the rest of the country.
 They generate:-
 1.35 million m3 /day of liquid effluent
 34,500 tonnes/day of solid waste.
 CPCB 2006 revealed that out of 2750 large and medium industries in
the country, 1121 were located along the West coast
 In addition, aquaculture farms, largely concentrated in Andhra
Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, generate 2.37 million m3 /day of effluent
which adversely affects the coastal ecosystems.
 Impacts- loss of marine biodiversity, contamination of water.

 India has:-
 13 major ports
 200 minor ports
 350-450 MMT crude oil is transported along the route through 2500-
3000 tankers.
 Considering the large volume of oil transportation at high rate,
probability of accidents is very high.
 Since 1982 to 2017, 75 oil spills have caused huge oil pollution.
 Recent oil spills:-
1) Mumbai oil spill of 600 tons on 7th august, 2010.
2) Ennore (Tamilnadu) oil spill over 34000 m2 on 28 January, 2017
 Impacts- Loss of biodiversity, contamination of sea food supply.

Ennore oil spill and its deadly
effects on coastal biodiversity
One by one,
Until there are none

 Plastic although is illegal to dump in oceans, it is being dumped in
huge quantities.
 The polymers, due to UV radiation break into smaller and smaller
pieces, but they are still present as plastic and non-biodegradable in
any practical manner
 This persistence of plastic leads to an increasing abundance in the
ocean environment, which makes plastic debris more accessible to
plankton and other marine life.
 Plastic degradation process is slower in the ocean than land because
ocean water which is cool hinders the degradation.
 It is a serious problem for marine organisms.
 Impact- death of marine organisms, decreased scenic beauty,
decreased beach tourism, shrinking coastal economy.

Nariman Point, Mumbai
Versova beach, Arabian coast, Mumbai
Chennai coast, Tamilnadu
I pick up plastic waste to
save it from landfill. It's
lonely but worth it……
Andrew Mayers

50 to 80 percent of sea turtles
found dead are known to have
ingested plastic marine debris

 The term heavy metal refers to any metallic chemical element that
has a relatively high density and a specific gravity greater than 4.0
and is toxic or poisonous at low concentration.
 Indian coasts have concentration of 10-15 heavy metals. Few of
these are- lead, cadmium (Gujarat and Tamilnadu coast); zinc,
mercury, copper (Kerala coast) etc.
 Most Mercury compounds decompose in the sea to give Mercuric
chloride, Mercuric sulphide, but some of these are converted to
Methyl mercury which is extremely toxic. In humans it affects the
nervous system, causing Impaired vision, hearing & speech and loss
of muscular coordination
 Impact- Biomagnification

Coastal/Marine Pollution by Saumya Mishra

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Coastal/Marine Pollution by Saumya Mishra