Enforcement of the ocean dumping act: Science to the rescue?

The provisions of the Ocean Dumping Act are enforced by the U. S. Coast Guard. Traditional maritime law enforcement techniques must be augmented with modern scientific tools to adequately police the yearly dumping of more than 10,000,000 tons of industrial wastes and sewage sludge and 40,000,000 cubic yards of dredge spoils. The precise location of suspected violations can be pinpointed with Loran-C. Scientific assay techniques are available to identify the particular pollutant and its source. A Coast Guard-developed, all-weather, long-range, airborne surveillance and classification system shows promise of providing evidence of violations. The most effective tool may be the Ocean Dumping Surveillance System consisting of a Loran-C receiver, clock, dump monitor and recorder, to be carried by all dump vessels, that makes a permanent record of the vessel's track for use as evidence of improper dumping.