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Worms adapt to metal pollution
Island Sound under permits renewed routinely ever), North Sea and the Malacca Straits are scarcely deep enough and shifting sand waves in the North Sea present three months by the A r m y Corps of Engineers which has jurisdiction over sea dumping. The waste is largely a serious hazard to ships that must make use of the residues from the manufacture of penicillin and other maximum depth of water available. With that and what is described as the discarded ironmongery of two world antibiotics and at present about I million gallons (3.79 m I.) per month are dumped. The waste is sufficiently in- wars, the most congested sea lanes in the world (800 nocuous that other pharmaceutical companies have ships pass through the Straits of Dover each day) are turned this fermentation residue into animal feed. Even hazardous indeed. E P A can only regard it as increasing the biological Depth surveys which were adequate only ten years oxygen demand in Long Island Sound as it decomposes, ago are now insufficiently detailed to allow mammoth and cannot suggest more harmful consequences. Pfizer vessels to pass close over the seabed in these shallow are more positive and claim that it is good fish food waters. The British and Duu:h navies are now carrying and, if anything, beneficial. out a detailed survey of the southern North Sea to E P A put pressure on the company to find alternative provide charts which will show mariners the absolute minimum depth that they can rely on at all times at means of disposing of the wastes on the curious grounds that it was unfair to make other companies install ex- any point. pensive poliution control while Pfizer continued to use H o w the survey is being carried out has been the Sound as a free dump. Furthermore, if ~ r is described by Captain Roger Morris in a recent issue of allowed to continue dumping wastes in Long Island Marine Technology. Continuous soundings are taken Sound, it will be di~cult to withhold permission from by echosounder along predetermined lines 120 m apart other companies. with position fixes by Hi-fix, a portable version of After some months' thought, Pfizer announced that Decca Navigator, every 150 m along the line. Three Hi. the cattle feed market was already amply supplied and fix stations have been set up for this survey, at if they could not dump in Long Island Sound they would Dungeness, in Zeeland on the Hook of Schouwen and dump further offshore outside the limits of the area near Den Helder in the Netherlands. Adjustment to these data has to be made to allow where the federally approved water quality standards for New York State apply. To do this would require for tidal changes and, for this, account is taken for another permit to dump from the Army Corps of tidal heights recorded at the nearest convenient shore Engineers and the company had evidently been told installations. This then gives the COITeCt~ minimum tentatively that an application would be favovLrably depth of water that can be expected. In addition, areas between the 120 m transect lines received. The EPA has appealed to the Corps of Engineers not are swept by sonar to ensure that there are no pinnacles to grant a permit but can do nothing more itself. Legis- of rock or wreckage between the lines. Where these arc lation has been proposed that would seriously curtail detected, additional soundingS are taken to find the least ocean dumping, though the appropriate biI1 is not with- depth of water. Wrecks and sharp rocks are examined out its problems (M#a'ine Pollution Bulletin, 2, 163-4, by divers, or if this is not feasible, a sweep wire is 1971). Until R is passed, however. EPA can do little passed over them to make sure that no dangerous fang more than sit on the siddines and complain that Pfizer, escapes detection. While within its rights, is being ungentlemanly by not With this survey going on in one of the busiest sea following the spirit of President Nixon's environment lanes in the world, the work of surveying is not without policy which would discourage ocean dumping because its hazards. Captain Morris complains of the time that it merely postpones the day when effective waste dis- is lost in avoiding coUision with other shipping and posal methods are introduced. Even in coastal waters even though the ships fly the international signal that where water quality standards are stipulated and there they are surveying, most vessels insist on their right of is a greater measure of control of dumping, power lies way and cause the surveyor to break off his line of with the Army Corps of Engineers which issues the soundings and to pick up the threads again when the permits and EPA must rely on its charm and powers of danger has passed. persuasion to get much done.
Worms Adapt to Metal Is the North .Sea Deep Enough ? Pollution World cargo shipping is firmly co/nmitted to the introduction of super container ships which may equal supers in size. Deep draught tankers, requiring more than 18 m (60 ft) of water already present a problem which will only become more acute as more vessels of this size are introduced. There are few ports that have sufficiently deep water to accept supertankers fully laden and, while these can be lightened by transferring some of their cargo before entering port, it will be much more difficult and scarcely economic to do this with super container ships. It is not simply the approaches to ports that are too shallow: such important shipping routes as the southern
It is not surprising to learn that spe~nens of the polychaete worm Nerei$ diversicolor taken from estuaries that sutter heavy mining pollution should contain far more copper than those in unpolluteA estuaries. From an investigation by Drs G. W. Bryan and L. G. Hummerstone published in the Journal of the Marine Biological Association ($1, 845-63, 197I), it appears that the total concentration of copper ranges from about 20 ppm in low-copper areas to more than 4,000 ppm in heavily polluted estuaries. The concentration of copper in the animal is roughly proportional to the concentra. tion in the sediment (the concentration ratio is 0.44). The concentration of zinc on the other hand is remark.
the Irish Sea and off the west coast of Scotland in autumn 1969 and now are suspected of being implicated in damage to terns in Long Island Sound. A preliminary report on a three year study by Dr Helen Hays, of the American Museum of Natural History, and Dr R. W. Risebrongh, of the University of California, has been published in the magazine Natural History, in the United States. The study has centred on colonies of roseate and common terns on Great Gull Island in Long Island Sound. There has been a rising incidence of developmental abnormalities among the chicks since 1969. These include absence of tail feathers, plumage without down feathers or which failed to develop adult feathers, loss of primary and secondary flight feathers, a four.legged chick, one born with stumps for legs and others with crossed mandibles and abnormally small eyes. Three deformities were noted in 1969, but 20 in 1970 and in 1971. These are well above normal: a recent study in Florida found only one minor deformity in 10,000 birds. Levels of DDT and related pesticides in the birds and their food proved to be normal or sub-normal, but" PCB concentrations were in the range of 100-200 parts per million. PCBs injected into chick embryos produce similar developmental failures to those found in the Long Island terns, so that although the cause is not certain, it is a reasonable supposition that pollution by PCBs is responsible for the high incidence of deformities in the Long Island Sound birds. Long Island Sound is known to be one of the more heavily polluted pieces of sea in the world and there are obvious fears that what has shown up rapidly in The great success in reducing pollution in the Thames seabirds may appear in the human population one or estuary has resulted in a rich variety of fish inhabiting the estuary and even moving up into the London two decades later. A rapid clean-up of effluents would obviously be prudent. reaches, and has also brought back the birds. The This might also nudge the British authorities to reLondon Natural History Society has been keeping an view their attitude to PCB pollution which is known to eye on developments and it is now clear that large numbers of migratory birds are wintering in the estuary be particularly high in coastal waters of the United as far upstream as Woolwich, where before there were Kingdom. only a few dreary gulls picking over the sewage. The enormous quantities of worms and molluscs now in the estuarine mudflats near the new town of ThamesBP Italiana has gone a step beyond marketing oilmead attract flocks of migrants and provide such good dispersing chemicals and is now offering an anti-pollufeeding grounds that some are spending the winter tion service. It has a new low toxicity dispersant called there instead of continuing their migration to Africa. BP MOD9, but in view of the sluggish attitude of the The ruff is a case in point. Large flocks of dunlin, lapItalian authorities to dealing with coastal pollution, one wing and redshank have been seen in winter, where formerly they were rarities or had not been seen for m a y guess.that it has a rather insecure market for it. generations. Duck, notably shclduck and pinta/l, have B P Italiana has gone into the question of oil spill cleanincreased remarkably in numbers and teal, tufted duck, up in some detail and, to judge by the information it pochard, golden-eye, widgeon, shoveller, gadwall, sinew, has published, appreciates that the treatment must be related to the conditions of the spill, that physical rescaup and goosanders, aLl now put in an appearance. Such is the improvement that there is now even talk moval of oil from sandy beaches is often the only of organizing winter bird-watching boat trips down the sensible action, and so on. The company is offering an oil pollution clean-up river. If that comes off, the Port of London Authority service tailored to the actual needs of the situation and and Greater London Council will really be able to the financial resources of the customer, and evidently compliment themselves. is prepared to take the whole Italian coastline under its wing. There is some suggestion too. that the B P Italiana PCBs, polychlorinated biphenyls, which are used in service wiLl embrace forms of coastal pollution other the paint and plastics industries, are n o w known to be than oil. though how it will manage that is not clear. serious poLlutants of some coastal waters. They came The appalling condition of most parrs of the Italian under suspicion after the massive loss of seabirds in coast resulting from the discharge of untreated or in-
ably constant, despite wide variations in the environment, and this metal appears to be accurately regulated. Worms from copper-rich sediments have a high tolerance to the metal. The time taken to kill half the worms in a 1 t~g/ml solution of copper in 50% seawater is less than 1 day for low-copper animals but at least 4 days for high-copper animals. The tolerant animals had taken up far more copper before they were killed and are evidently equipped with a better regulatory or detoxitication system. Experiments in which an attempt was made to acclimate worms to high copper concentrations showed that this tolerance is neither easily lost nor easily gained. There is a possibility therefore that copper tolerance has a genetic basis. As the authors point out, the Cornish river from which the tolerant animals came has been subject to heavy metal pollution for at least 200 years and this would allow ample time for a copper-tolerant population of Nereis to develop. Heavy metal tolerance of land plants that have colonized old mine tips is well known, but tolerance in animals to these pollutants is new. The polluted river is also populated by the seaweed Fucus vesiculosus, the bivalve Scrobicularia plana, the polychaete Nephtys hombergi and the amphipod Corophium volutator and investigations are proceeding to find if these have also developed high metal tolerance.
Birds Return to the Thames Estuary
BP to the Rescue
PCBs in the News Again
Worms Adapt to Metal Is the North .Sea Deep Enough ? Pollution World cargo shipping is firmly co/nmitted to the introduction of super container ships which may equal supers in size. Deep draught tankers, requiring more than 18 m (60 ft) of water already present a problem which will only become more acute as more vessels of this size are introduced. There are few ports that have sufficiently deep water to accept supertankers fully laden and, while these can be lightened by transferring some of their cargo before entering port, it will be much more difficult and scarcely economic to do this with super container ships. It is not simply the approaches to ports that are too shallow: such important shipping routes as the southern
It is not surprising to learn that spe~nens of the polychaete worm Nerei$ diversicolor taken from estuaries that sutter heavy mining pollution should contain far more copper than those in unpolluteA estuaries. From an investigation by Drs G. W. Bryan and L. G. Hummerstone published in the Journal of the Marine Biological Association ($1, 845-63, 197I), it appears that the total concentration of copper ranges from about 20 ppm in low-copper areas to more than 4,000 ppm in heavily polluted estuaries. The concentration of copper in the animal is roughly proportional to the concentra. tion in the sediment (the concentration ratio is 0.44). The concentration of zinc on the other hand is remark.
the Irish Sea and off the west coast of Scotland in autumn 1969 and now are suspected of being implicated in damage to terns in Long Island Sound. A preliminary report on a three year study by Dr Helen Hays, of the American Museum of Natural History, and Dr R. W. Risebrongh, of the University of California, has been published in the magazine Natural History, in the United States. The study has centred on colonies of roseate and common terns on Great Gull Island in Long Island Sound. There has been a rising incidence of developmental abnormalities among the chicks since 1969. These include absence of tail feathers, plumage without down feathers or which failed to develop adult feathers, loss of primary and secondary flight feathers, a four.legged chick, one born with stumps for legs and others with crossed mandibles and abnormally small eyes. Three deformities were noted in 1969, but 20 in 1970 and in 1971. These are well above normal: a recent study in Florida found only one minor deformity in 10,000 birds. Levels of DDT and related pesticides in the birds and their food proved to be normal or sub-normal, but" PCB concentrations were in the range of 100-200 parts per million. PCBs injected into chick embryos produce similar developmental failures to those found in the Long Island terns, so that although the cause is not certain, it is a reasonable supposition that pollution by PCBs is responsible for the high incidence of deformities in the Long Island Sound birds. Long Island Sound is known to be one of the more heavily polluted pieces of sea in the world and there are obvious fears that what has shown up rapidly in The great success in reducing pollution in the Thames seabirds may appear in the human population one or estuary has resulted in a rich variety of fish inhabiting the estuary and even moving up into the London two decades later. A rapid clean-up of effluents would obviously be prudent. reaches, and has also brought back the birds. The This might also nudge the British authorities to reLondon Natural History Society has been keeping an view their attitude to PCB pollution which is known to eye on developments and it is now clear that large numbers of migratory birds are wintering in the estuary be particularly high in coastal waters of the United as far upstream as Woolwich, where before there were Kingdom. only a few dreary gulls picking over the sewage. The enormous quantities of worms and molluscs now in the estuarine mudflats near the new town of ThamesBP Italiana has gone a step beyond marketing oilmead attract flocks of migrants and provide such good dispersing chemicals and is now offering an anti-pollufeeding grounds that some are spending the winter tion service. It has a new low toxicity dispersant called there instead of continuing their migration to Africa. BP MOD9, but in view of the sluggish attitude of the The ruff is a case in point. Large flocks of dunlin, lapItalian authorities to dealing with coastal pollution, one wing and redshank have been seen in winter, where formerly they were rarities or had not been seen for m a y guess.that it has a rather insecure market for it. generations. Duck, notably shclduck and pinta/l, have B P Italiana has gone into the question of oil spill cleanincreased remarkably in numbers and teal, tufted duck, up in some detail and, to judge by the information it pochard, golden-eye, widgeon, shoveller, gadwall, sinew, has published, appreciates that the treatment must be related to the conditions of the spill, that physical rescaup and goosanders, aLl now put in an appearance. Such is the improvement that there is now even talk moval of oil from sandy beaches is often the only of organizing winter bird-watching boat trips down the sensible action, and so on. The company is offering an oil pollution clean-up river. If that comes off, the Port of London Authority service tailored to the actual needs of the situation and and Greater London Council will really be able to the financial resources of the customer, and evidently compliment themselves. is prepared to take the whole Italian coastline under its wing. There is some suggestion too. that the B P Italiana PCBs, polychlorinated biphenyls, which are used in service wiLl embrace forms of coastal pollution other the paint and plastics industries, are n o w known to be than oil. though how it will manage that is not clear. serious poLlutants of some coastal waters. They came The appalling condition of most parrs of the Italian under suspicion after the massive loss of seabirds in coast resulting from the discharge of untreated or in-
ably constant, despite wide variations in the environment, and this metal appears to be accurately regulated. Worms from copper-rich sediments have a high tolerance to the metal. The time taken to kill half the worms in a 1 t~g/ml solution of copper in 50% seawater is less than 1 day for low-copper animals but at least 4 days for high-copper animals. The tolerant animals had taken up far more copper before they were killed and are evidently equipped with a better regulatory or detoxitication system. Experiments in which an attempt was made to acclimate worms to high copper concentrations showed that this tolerance is neither easily lost nor easily gained. There is a possibility therefore that copper tolerance has a genetic basis. As the authors point out, the Cornish river from which the tolerant animals came has been subject to heavy metal pollution for at least 200 years and this would allow ample time for a copper-tolerant population of Nereis to develop. Heavy metal tolerance of land plants that have colonized old mine tips is well known, but tolerance in animals to these pollutants is new. The polluted river is also populated by the seaweed Fucus vesiculosus, the bivalve Scrobicularia plana, the polychaete Nephtys hombergi and the amphipod Corophium volutator and investigations are proceeding to find if these have also developed high metal tolerance.
Birds Return to the Thames Estuary
BP to the Rescue
PCBs in the News Again