This book represents the proceedings of the first major international meeting dedi cated to discuss environmental aspects of produced water. The 1992 International Pro duced Water Symposium was held at the Catamaran Hotel, San Diego, California, USA, on February 4-7, 1992. The objectives of the conference were to provide a forum where scientists, regulators, industry, academia, and the enviromental community could gather to hear and discuss the latest information related to the environmental considerations of produced water discharges. It was also an objective to provide a forum for the peer review and international publication of the symposium papers so that they would have wide availability to all parties interested in produced water environmental issues. Produced water is the largest volume waste stream from oil and gas production activities. Onshore, well over 90% is reinjected to subsurface formations. Offshore, and in the coastal zone, most produced water is discharged to the ocean. Over the past several years there has been increasing concern from regulators and the environmental commu nity. There has been a quest for more information on the composition, treatment systems and chemicals, discharge characteristics, disposal options, and fate and effects of the produced water. As so often happens, much of this information exists in the forms of reports and internal research papers. This symposium and publication was intended to make this information available, both for open discussion at the conference, and for peer review before publication.

This book describes how man-made litter, primarily plastic, has spread into the remotest parts of the oceans and covers all aspects of this pollution problem from the impacts on wildlife and human health to socio-economic and political issues. Marine litter is a prime threat to marine wildlife, habitats and food webs worldwide. The book illustrates how advanced technologies from deep-sea research, microbiology and mathematic modelling as well as classic beach litter counts by volunteers contributed to the broad awareness of marine litter as a problem of global significance. The authors summarise more than five decades of marine litter research, which receives growing attention after the recent discovery of great oceanic garbage patches and the ubiquity of microscopic plastic particles in marine organisms and habitats. In 16 chapters, authors from all over the world have created a universal view on the diverse field of marine litter pollution, the biological impacts, dedicated research activities, and the various national and international legislative efforts to combat this environmental problem. They recommend future research directions necessary for a comprehensive understanding of this environmental issue and the development of efficient management strategies. This book addresses scientists, and it provides a solid knowledge base for policy makers, NGOs, and the broader public.

The study of the relationship between environmental pollution and human health is in its infancy. The number of substances and mixtures that have been identified in uncontrolled hazardous waste sites or that have been in advertently released into the environment is large and data on how thes~ substances are modified as they interact with one another as they migrate through soil, air, and water are limited. There are also limits on our un derstanding of how these substances may be ingested, inhaled, or absorbed by people. The complexity of possible interactions between biological, chemical, and physical components in a given environment makes it virtually impossible to evaluate the potential for adverse biological effects ade quately in the laboratory. Other, more comprehensive methods which provide realistic and interpretable results must be used. Many scientists believe that humans represent the ultimate sentinel species of a toxic exposure re sUlting from environmental pollution, however such exposures may also se verely impact environmental health. There exists a wide variety of organ isms in the natural environment that could be used to provide an early warning for potential human health effects as well as to indicate adverse ecological effects. The issue of effective utilization of sentinel species for environment al monitoring is a rapidly developing area of research which has grown in importance during the last decade.