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Round-the-world news
Volume 12/Number 7/July 1981
The Natural Resources and Energy Agency of the Trade and Industry Ministry say that owners Japan Atomic Power Co. failed to report the large-scale leak or that the poisonous substances flowed into the Japan sea. Residents in cities and towns in a 100-mile radius are refusing to buy seafood while fishermen claim the company should buy up their hauls as long as the scares last. The Japanese Minister of International Trade and Industry Mr Tanaka promised the stringent safety checks during a government meeting, where he was strongly criticized by Opposition leaders about failing to say whether operations at the plants would be halted while the checks were carried out.
Sydney Swimmers Exposed to Sewage Dangers Studies have shown that pollution on Sydney beaches is running at a level far higher than the maximum set by the Pollution Control Commission and has at times reached more than 350 times the safe limit. The New South Wales Institute of Technology have shown in a series of tests that the official limit for clean bathing waters was not met once in a recent period of a month. Harmful bacteria were found in samples taken regularly from the Fairy Bower Beach at Manly, Sydney, and swimmers have been exposed to dangerous levels of sewage. Public health engineering lecturer Mr Jeremiah Jackson, who began the programme after doubting Water Board figures, said that some of the contaminants in the samples were dying off before reaching the sampling sites-thus the levels actually in the water were being underestimated. The ratio was actually four times less than if it had been counting the dying bacteria. Mr Jackson said that the high readings had partly been caused by a recent sewage treatment strike in Sydney and unusually high winds blowing sewage onto beaches. A further government examination of the area's beach pollution problems is expected to arise from the results of the survey. The scare has shown that sewage treatment from Sydney plants is far from adequate. Health authorities have warned of the risk of disease to swimmers who swallow sea water. Treatment from the Bondi and Malabar plants involves five stages including the burning of solids before sending it out to surf. But swimmers have claimed that raw untreated sewage has been seen on the beaches at Sydney. The processes used are known as primary treatment but the Water Board have said it is only secondary treatment which reduces bacteria. Cities in Australia do not currently use secondary treatment. By 1987 Sydney hopes to have a $100 million system of long-distance ocean outfalls to take its sewage 4km out to sea.
WWF in the Deep Sea and Antarctica The World Wildlife Fund has approved a proposal to examine the conservation problems of earth's last great wilderness areas - the deepsea bed and Antarctica.
Acting on a recommendation by Dr Sylvia Earle and Dr Sidney Holt, a meeting of WWF Trustees and affiliate organizations agreed unanimously that WWF and its scientific partner IUCN urgently examine the technical, legal and political problems involved in the creation of protected areas within these two international commons. This new conservation initiative is needed, in part, because the developing UN Law of the Sea considers deep sea mineral resources but pays little attention to the importance of living systems in that realm. In a statement about the programme, Dr Earle, a WWF International Trustee, said "Within the past 2 years deep ocean exploration has resulted in the discovery of hot mineral vents on the ocean floor that not only are immensely rich in manganese, silver, copper and other minerals, but which also are the home for completely new forms of life. The discovery of this ecosystem is an event of comparable magnitude to discovering a new type of tropical rain forest. And now that technological advances have made Antarctica so accessible some nations are taking great quantities of shrimp-like krill - the cornerstone of a fragile ecosystem that includes birds, fish, squid, whales and ultimately, all of us on earth."
Round-the-World News USA Oil from an unidentified source has washed up along 20 km of Southern Texas beaches causing the US Coast Guard to declare a federal spill. Some reports suggested the oil may have come from the Ixtoc I site in the Bahia de Campeche but it was later analysed as being a refined product. Manual equipment was used to clean up the oiled sand on the beaches and according to USCG this oiled sand was later used in rebuilding a damaged dune. The Third Annual Southwestern Spill Conference on the control of oil and hazardous substances during spills was held in Brownsville, Texas, in April. Among subjects discussed were beach cleanup strategy, inland spills, equipment, funds and legislation.
Alaska 130000 gallons of light diesel fuel spilled off Attu Island, Alaska, after a Korean ship grounded on rocks near an important marine wildlife area. The 1500-GRT M/V Dae Rim is thought to have had a fire on board which caused the crew to abandon ship. Hazardous weather conditions near the wreck made the US Coast Guard decide not to offload the 130000 gallons of fuel oil in the tanks and initial overflights indicated that no oil had been spilled. The Regional Response Team dealing with the wreck decided that it would be better to detonate the ship than risk a spill later in the year when the area would be rich in marine wildlife. USCG carried out the operation and rough weather hastened evaporation and dispersion of the oil. USCG have not estimated the amount of oil spilled versus the amount burned but environmentalists report that no oiled birds or marine mammals have been seen in the area, although some invertebrates such as sea urchins seemed to have been affected. 229
Marine PollutionBulletin
Germany Two inland waterways in West Germany were polluted when a total of three tankers were involved in collision incidents. About 10000 gallons of fuel oil spilled into the Rhine when a Dutch tanker collided with a West German gravel carrier and boom and skimmers had to be used to contain the oil. It was later transported to a reprocessing plant by vacuum truck. In an earlier incident two West German tankers collided in a narrow section of the Mittellandkanal, damaging one of them and spilling about 5 tons of light crude oil. The canal was closed and local residents were warned of dangerous fumes and a low flash point near the spill site. The oil was recovered in a day by vacuum trucks.
Caribbean The Caribbean Action Plan, devised by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Regional Seas Programme, was approved by 23 of the 27 Caribbean states, territories and islands at a recent meeting in Montego Bay, Jamaica.
Marine Pollution Bulletin, Vol. 12, No. 7, pp. 2 3 0 - 2 3 I, 198 I. P r i n t e d in ( ; r e a r Britain.
Metal-binding Proteins and Metal Toxicity Many reports document the fact that some rrtarine animals which live in environments contaminated with metals accumulate these metals to high concentrations in their tissues. Fewer studies have been concerned with the cellular and biochemical mechanisms of accumulation, or with the associated causes of toxicity to the animal tissues. Recently, however, research into the properties of metalbinding proteins and metal-rich vesicles support some hope that a more comprehensive picture of metal accumulation and toxicity, particularly in marine molluscs, may soon be possible. Metallothioneins are small-molecular weight proteins, rich in sulphydryl groups, and known from research on mammals to be involved in the intra-cellular binding of such metals as cadmium, copper, mercury and zinc. Metallothionein-like proteins (MLP) have been identified in many invertebrate groups (G. Roesijadi, 1980/81; Mar. Envir. Res., 4, 167-179) and have been purified and characterized as to amino acid composition from the oyster, Crassostrea virginica, and the mussel, Mytilus edulis. The concentrations of these proteins in the tissues tend to be higher in animals from metal-rich habitats and there is recent evidence for crabs (R. W. Olafson et al., 1979; Comp. Biochem. Physiol., 62B, 417-424) and for mussels (A. Viarengo et al., 1980; Proc. First Europ. Soc. Comp. PhysioL Biochem. Pergamon Press, pp. 81-83) that high levels of metal in the environment cause increased production of the metal-binding proteins. 230
The Plan, to cost about $8.2 million, will be partly financed by various development and aid organizations. Caribbean countries will be working with UNEP to carry out the plan, which is aimed at teaching developing countries to take long-term environmental strategies. Paul Ress of UNEP has said that he is optimistic about cooperation from the countries although they are divided by language, culture and economy.
Australia Several beaches in Botany Bay were 'extensively polluted' according to local officials following a spill of 100 metric tons of light Arabian crude oil from the British tanker Texaco Plymouth during offloading operations. Choppy seas prevented booms deployed around the spill from effectively containing the oil. The Australian Government is currently planning new legislation that will increase the financial compensation payable by owners of ships responsible for oil pollution and increase protection to the Great Barrier Reef by prohibiting operational discharge of oil within 50 nautical miles.
0025 - 3 2 6 X / 8 1 / 0 7 0 2 3 0 - 02 $ 0 2 . 0 0 / 0 P e r g a m o n Press Ltd.
The assumption is made that metal bound to MLP is detoxified, since it is not then available for competitive binding to enzymes (with potentially toxic results) or for damaging effects on intra-cellular membranes. In the further analysis of the detoxication properties of the MLP system, however, two questions remain: If the cellular capacity for metal-binding on MLP is finite or saturable, as it must be, what is the fate of the metal ions once further sites on the MLP are not available? And, what is the relationship, if any, between the MLP and the lysosomal/ vacuolar system in the cell and the metal-rich vesicles found in some tissues? Drawing on earlier work on rats, D. A. Brown & T. R. Parsons (1978; J. Fish. Res. Bd, Can., 35, 880-884) have suggested that, once the metal-binding protein is saturated with metal, a process called 'spill-over' occurs, in which excess metal ions are released into the cytosol where they can exert their full toxic effects. The response of the animal to metal exposure is then, at its simplest, a threestage process; firstly, binding of the metal to MLP occurs as a means of detoxication, followed by further synthesis of MLP which increases the capacity of the cell to sequester further metal. But both the induction of new protein and the binding of metal to the protein molecules are finite; eventually, spillover occurs and the toxic threshold of the mechanism is reached. The intra-cellular localization of the metal-binding proteins and their relationship with metal-rich vesicles is another growing area of research. It is well-documented that the sequestration of metals into lysosomal-like vesicles in the molluscan kidney is a likely component of the metal
The Natural Resources and Energy Agency of the Trade and Industry Ministry say that owners Japan Atomic Power Co. failed to report the large-scale leak or that the poisonous substances flowed into the Japan sea. Residents in cities and towns in a 100-mile radius are refusing to buy seafood while fishermen claim the company should buy up their hauls as long as the scares last. The Japanese Minister of International Trade and Industry Mr Tanaka promised the stringent safety checks during a government meeting, where he was strongly criticized by Opposition leaders about failing to say whether operations at the plants would be halted while the checks were carried out.
Sydney Swimmers Exposed to Sewage Dangers Studies have shown that pollution on Sydney beaches is running at a level far higher than the maximum set by the Pollution Control Commission and has at times reached more than 350 times the safe limit. The New South Wales Institute of Technology have shown in a series of tests that the official limit for clean bathing waters was not met once in a recent period of a month. Harmful bacteria were found in samples taken regularly from the Fairy Bower Beach at Manly, Sydney, and swimmers have been exposed to dangerous levels of sewage. Public health engineering lecturer Mr Jeremiah Jackson, who began the programme after doubting Water Board figures, said that some of the contaminants in the samples were dying off before reaching the sampling sites-thus the levels actually in the water were being underestimated. The ratio was actually four times less than if it had been counting the dying bacteria. Mr Jackson said that the high readings had partly been caused by a recent sewage treatment strike in Sydney and unusually high winds blowing sewage onto beaches. A further government examination of the area's beach pollution problems is expected to arise from the results of the survey. The scare has shown that sewage treatment from Sydney plants is far from adequate. Health authorities have warned of the risk of disease to swimmers who swallow sea water. Treatment from the Bondi and Malabar plants involves five stages including the burning of solids before sending it out to surf. But swimmers have claimed that raw untreated sewage has been seen on the beaches at Sydney. The processes used are known as primary treatment but the Water Board have said it is only secondary treatment which reduces bacteria. Cities in Australia do not currently use secondary treatment. By 1987 Sydney hopes to have a $100 million system of long-distance ocean outfalls to take its sewage 4km out to sea.
WWF in the Deep Sea and Antarctica The World Wildlife Fund has approved a proposal to examine the conservation problems of earth's last great wilderness areas - the deepsea bed and Antarctica.
Acting on a recommendation by Dr Sylvia Earle and Dr Sidney Holt, a meeting of WWF Trustees and affiliate organizations agreed unanimously that WWF and its scientific partner IUCN urgently examine the technical, legal and political problems involved in the creation of protected areas within these two international commons. This new conservation initiative is needed, in part, because the developing UN Law of the Sea considers deep sea mineral resources but pays little attention to the importance of living systems in that realm. In a statement about the programme, Dr Earle, a WWF International Trustee, said "Within the past 2 years deep ocean exploration has resulted in the discovery of hot mineral vents on the ocean floor that not only are immensely rich in manganese, silver, copper and other minerals, but which also are the home for completely new forms of life. The discovery of this ecosystem is an event of comparable magnitude to discovering a new type of tropical rain forest. And now that technological advances have made Antarctica so accessible some nations are taking great quantities of shrimp-like krill - the cornerstone of a fragile ecosystem that includes birds, fish, squid, whales and ultimately, all of us on earth."
Round-the-World News USA Oil from an unidentified source has washed up along 20 km of Southern Texas beaches causing the US Coast Guard to declare a federal spill. Some reports suggested the oil may have come from the Ixtoc I site in the Bahia de Campeche but it was later analysed as being a refined product. Manual equipment was used to clean up the oiled sand on the beaches and according to USCG this oiled sand was later used in rebuilding a damaged dune. The Third Annual Southwestern Spill Conference on the control of oil and hazardous substances during spills was held in Brownsville, Texas, in April. Among subjects discussed were beach cleanup strategy, inland spills, equipment, funds and legislation.
Alaska 130000 gallons of light diesel fuel spilled off Attu Island, Alaska, after a Korean ship grounded on rocks near an important marine wildlife area. The 1500-GRT M/V Dae Rim is thought to have had a fire on board which caused the crew to abandon ship. Hazardous weather conditions near the wreck made the US Coast Guard decide not to offload the 130000 gallons of fuel oil in the tanks and initial overflights indicated that no oil had been spilled. The Regional Response Team dealing with the wreck decided that it would be better to detonate the ship than risk a spill later in the year when the area would be rich in marine wildlife. USCG carried out the operation and rough weather hastened evaporation and dispersion of the oil. USCG have not estimated the amount of oil spilled versus the amount burned but environmentalists report that no oiled birds or marine mammals have been seen in the area, although some invertebrates such as sea urchins seemed to have been affected. 229
Marine PollutionBulletin
Germany Two inland waterways in West Germany were polluted when a total of three tankers were involved in collision incidents. About 10000 gallons of fuel oil spilled into the Rhine when a Dutch tanker collided with a West German gravel carrier and boom and skimmers had to be used to contain the oil. It was later transported to a reprocessing plant by vacuum truck. In an earlier incident two West German tankers collided in a narrow section of the Mittellandkanal, damaging one of them and spilling about 5 tons of light crude oil. The canal was closed and local residents were warned of dangerous fumes and a low flash point near the spill site. The oil was recovered in a day by vacuum trucks.
Caribbean The Caribbean Action Plan, devised by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Regional Seas Programme, was approved by 23 of the 27 Caribbean states, territories and islands at a recent meeting in Montego Bay, Jamaica.
Marine Pollution Bulletin, Vol. 12, No. 7, pp. 2 3 0 - 2 3 I, 198 I. P r i n t e d in ( ; r e a r Britain.
Metal-binding Proteins and Metal Toxicity Many reports document the fact that some rrtarine animals which live in environments contaminated with metals accumulate these metals to high concentrations in their tissues. Fewer studies have been concerned with the cellular and biochemical mechanisms of accumulation, or with the associated causes of toxicity to the animal tissues. Recently, however, research into the properties of metalbinding proteins and metal-rich vesicles support some hope that a more comprehensive picture of metal accumulation and toxicity, particularly in marine molluscs, may soon be possible. Metallothioneins are small-molecular weight proteins, rich in sulphydryl groups, and known from research on mammals to be involved in the intra-cellular binding of such metals as cadmium, copper, mercury and zinc. Metallothionein-like proteins (MLP) have been identified in many invertebrate groups (G. Roesijadi, 1980/81; Mar. Envir. Res., 4, 167-179) and have been purified and characterized as to amino acid composition from the oyster, Crassostrea virginica, and the mussel, Mytilus edulis. The concentrations of these proteins in the tissues tend to be higher in animals from metal-rich habitats and there is recent evidence for crabs (R. W. Olafson et al., 1979; Comp. Biochem. Physiol., 62B, 417-424) and for mussels (A. Viarengo et al., 1980; Proc. First Europ. Soc. Comp. PhysioL Biochem. Pergamon Press, pp. 81-83) that high levels of metal in the environment cause increased production of the metal-binding proteins. 230
The Plan, to cost about $8.2 million, will be partly financed by various development and aid organizations. Caribbean countries will be working with UNEP to carry out the plan, which is aimed at teaching developing countries to take long-term environmental strategies. Paul Ress of UNEP has said that he is optimistic about cooperation from the countries although they are divided by language, culture and economy.
Australia Several beaches in Botany Bay were 'extensively polluted' according to local officials following a spill of 100 metric tons of light Arabian crude oil from the British tanker Texaco Plymouth during offloading operations. Choppy seas prevented booms deployed around the spill from effectively containing the oil. The Australian Government is currently planning new legislation that will increase the financial compensation payable by owners of ships responsible for oil pollution and increase protection to the Great Barrier Reef by prohibiting operational discharge of oil within 50 nautical miles.
0025 - 3 2 6 X / 8 1 / 0 7 0 2 3 0 - 02 $ 0 2 . 0 0 / 0 P e r g a m o n Press Ltd.
The assumption is made that metal bound to MLP is detoxified, since it is not then available for competitive binding to enzymes (with potentially toxic results) or for damaging effects on intra-cellular membranes. In the further analysis of the detoxication properties of the MLP system, however, two questions remain: If the cellular capacity for metal-binding on MLP is finite or saturable, as it must be, what is the fate of the metal ions once further sites on the MLP are not available? And, what is the relationship, if any, between the MLP and the lysosomal/ vacuolar system in the cell and the metal-rich vesicles found in some tissues? Drawing on earlier work on rats, D. A. Brown & T. R. Parsons (1978; J. Fish. Res. Bd, Can., 35, 880-884) have suggested that, once the metal-binding protein is saturated with metal, a process called 'spill-over' occurs, in which excess metal ions are released into the cytosol where they can exert their full toxic effects. The response of the animal to metal exposure is then, at its simplest, a threestage process; firstly, binding of the metal to MLP occurs as a means of detoxication, followed by further synthesis of MLP which increases the capacity of the cell to sequester further metal. But both the induction of new protein and the binding of metal to the protein molecules are finite; eventually, spillover occurs and the toxic threshold of the mechanism is reached. The intra-cellular localization of the metal-binding proteins and their relationship with metal-rich vesicles is another growing area of research. It is well-documented that the sequestration of metals into lysosomal-like vesicles in the molluscan kidney is a likely component of the metal