By Thomas Henry

The oceans have been the ultimate disposal place for all waste that we produce and our past pollution habits are starting to catch up with us as our nations waters become too contaminated to enjoy.

The ocean was a perfect temporary solution to a waste disposal problem that burdened many companies and manufacturers for the past few decades. Oceans are able to disperse, dissolve, and degrade large amounts of sewage, waste products, sludge, and all other types of industrial waste which lead many people to believe that this was a perfect dumping ground for all waste.

Tyler Miller who is an active environmentalist and the author of Sustaining the Earth: An Integrated Approach says that this is not the answer.

"Not even for Jacques Cousteau who said the very survival of the human species depends upon the maintenance of an ocean clean and alive, spreading all around the world. The ocean is our planet's life belt," said Miller.

In the US alone we are subjected to 2,600 beach closings occurring in more than 20 coastal states according to Miller's studies. These closings are due to bacterial waste and sewage buildup that derives from overloaded sewage treatment systems. It is now prohibited to dump sludge and other chemicals in the United States waters.

New York City produces enough sludge to fill 8 1/2 World Trade Center buildings each year. Dumping of industrial waste off US coasts has stopped, although it still occurs in a number of other middle-developed countries and lower developed countries.

Miller said the pollution in our seas has not stopped completely. Barges and ships still legally dump large quantities of dredge spoils (materials, often laden with toxic metals, scraped from the bottoms of harbors and rivers to maintain shipping channels) at 110 sites off the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf coasts. Sewage sludge is defined in Miller's book as a gooey mixture of toxic chemicals, infectious agents, and settled solids removed from wastewater at sewage treatment plants.

Sludge used to be dumped, untreated, into the ocean and even though it is illegal now to dump sludge and medical waste, the shores of New Jersey are still threatened.

Bergen County in New Jersey is the host of a web page that tries to inform and curb polluting in the ocean. New Jersey is a popular place for vacation in which the Ocean plays a big part. Many types of pollutants wind up on the Jersey Shore from many different causes.

The web page www.bergen.org/AAST/Projects describes the various types of pollutants. One type of pollutant is an invisible chemical. Even though it can't be seen, this type of pollution causes as much damage and health hazards as ordinary litter.

The Jersey Shore, being close by beachfront, suffers still from pollution even though dumping is against the law. In response to litter still lingering, the Environmental Protection Agency, also known as the "water police", has made routine visits to Jersey Shores in attempts to maintain the waters during summer months. The web site in Bergen County informed that the waters were going to be tested and regulated to ensure safe swimming.

Bergen County resident Peter Startz said that he looks forward to just going to the beach on those hot days and never thought about the safety of the water. "I am glad to see that we are doing everything possible to ensure safety but I would also like the Environmental Protection Agency to take a stricter approach and speed up cleanups," said Startz.

If the E.P.A found that the water from one area is contaminated, they close the beach. In the summer of 1987, there were 15 beach closures along the 127 miles of New Jersey coastline.

The closing of beaches is not only an inconvenience to people but the pollution means that waters at sea are polluted and marine life suffers as well.

According to Bergen County officials and the EPA, each year as many as 2 million seabirds and more than 100, 000 marine mammals (including whales, seals, dolphins, and sea lions) die. This occurs when they ingest or become entangled in fishing nets, ropes, and other debris dumped into the sea and discarded on beaches.

Debris and fishnets are not the only things that kill marine life. It is also a result of the large amounts of oil that is spilled in our earth's waters. These oil spills involve ships, pipelines, storage tanks, fuel trucks, producing wells, and unknown sources.

Spills stem from human negligence, 'freak' accidents, inclement weather, and unreliable hardware. Impacts occur in oceans, marshes, beaches, and inland. People, as well as birds, fishes, and invertebrate organisms are affected.