Throw It Overboard: A Commentary on Coastal Pollution and Bioremediation

Charlier, R.H.; Finkl, C.W., and Krystosyk-Gromadzinska, A. 2012. Throw it Overboard: A Commentary on Coastal Pollution and Bioremediation. Journal of Coastal Research, 28(4), 881-890. West Palm Beach (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.The belief that rivers and oceans cleaned themselves faded as humanity expanded and wastes took on an ever more diversified character. The pollution of waterways, bays, inlets, and gulfs made many of them unusable for water transport. The solution commonly applied is to dredge, an expensive approach but also one that de facto substitutes land pollution for water pollution. Availability of land is not limitless either. Hence, in situ bioremediation is gathering an increasing number of adepts. Alleviating damages caused by green tides and cleaning up waterways, estuaries, inlets, and bays are continuous coastal and river concerns that have been variously approached. This paper reviews and summarizes several experiments. Treatment of sludge is necessitated, over several decades, by the diminishing space on land to deposit the dredgings, but also by the need to protect human and subsidiarily animal and plant health. Substantial advances have been made in the area of bioremediation including, but not limited to, the hydrological realm. Nevertheless, some frequently occurring compounds remain recalcitrant. Pilot projects have been conducted for some time in the United States and European countries.