In recent years there has been an increased realization that the casual
disposal of wastes can lead to a deterioration in environmen- tal
quality with substantial impacts on society. The management of waste
disposal practices must consider the various alternatives of discharging
and decomposing wastes on land, in the atmosphere, and in the marine
environment. Up until 1972 ocean dumping was used increasingly to
dispose of sewage sludge, industrial wastes, and dredged material. In
subsequent years regulations were developed to reduce and minimize ocean
dumping. These regulations were prompted often by ignorance of the
possible effects of waste disposal in the ocean rather than by knowledge
that such ocean dumping was detrimen- tal to the marine environment or
to man. The relationship between waste disposal and the oceans can be
viewed in either of two ways. One may want to assure that waste disposal
procedures do not alter adversely the marine environment, or one may
choose to utilize the ocean as a waste depository to reduce the burden
placed on the con- tinental ecosystem and on the atmosphere. From either
perspective it is essential that there be an adequate base of technical
information to assess the fate and effects of wastes introduced to the
ocean. A series of original technical papers has been compiled in this
book to present some of the recent results of research on industrial
waste disposal in the ocean.