Environmental aspects of ocean dumping in the western Gulf of Mexico

Field and laboratory studies were conducted of an ocean-dumped waste containing biological sludge from a chemical biotreatment plant. During July 1977, a test dump was monitored to study the chemical behavior and dispersal of waste at a deep-water dumpsite in the western Gulf of Mexico. Nearly 100 organic compounds were detected in the waste, and some heavy metals were measured in significant amounts. At the diluted levels usually encountered in the ocean, adverse effects of such a waste on phytoplankton productivity would not be measurable with the techniques used. Increased turbidity and chemical residues could not be measured in the field past 24 hours.