Ocean pollution and human health

OCEAN pollution is worsening and poorly controlled. It involves a complex mixture of toxic chemicals, plastics, petroleum, urban and industrial waste, pesticides and fertilizers, pharmaceutical chemicals, agricultural runoff and sewage. More than 80 percent of the pollution comes from land-based sources. It reaches the oceans through rivers, run-offs, atmospheric depositions and direct discharges.

A particularly alarming threat right now is ocean plastic pollution. Plastic debris is not limited to the shores of the Mediterranean, the Atlantic or the Pacific. Trillions of plastic waste circulate through the world's oceans from the Antarctic to the Arctic, both close to the surface and in the deep sea.