US EPA

2202445 

Technical Report 

Ecological effects of ocean sewage outfalls: observations and lessons 

Mearns, AJ 

1981 

PESTAB/81/1602 

1 

1 

PESTAB. Municipal sewage from large cities such as Los Angeles and San Diego contain not only diluted mixtures of fecal material, urine, pulverized food, water, and by-products from garbage disposal units, but also measurable amounts of potentially toxic chemicals used in the home and industry. Among these are synthetic, halogenated (mostly chlorinated), hydrocarbons. Recently concentrations and mass emission rates of several dozen types of materials discharged into Southern California coastal waters have been monitored. A partial quantification of the concentrations of a variety of volatile and semi-volatile organic solvents and related halogen derivatives has been achieved. Air (smog) is the dominant source of lead and DDT and PCBs. The effects of the outfalls on physical and aesthetic conditions of the water, water chemistry, and plankton are considered. Concentrations of trace elements and DDT in muscle tissue of 7 seafood organisms from the Palos Verdes shelf collected between 1975-76 are given. Residues of DDT, in intertidal biota along the coast and in pelicans and other seabirds at island breeding colonies 100 km away, confirms that toxic materials from discharges can enter the upper pelagic zone and be transported to distant sites.