Royalty has departed and the cha
nce for the individual scientist has come. On the
second day of the Marine Pollution Symposium taking place in Monaco presenters from Romania, Ukraine, Turkey, Germany, Bulgaria, Spain, Netherlands and the Russian Federation were heard for the first time. Scientists
who have spent countless hours in remote parts of the world were given their chance to present in front of the best of their peers.With 300 papers being presented,
logistics and sanity demand only a chosen few may present to the full audience. The bulk of the papers are shown in the exhibit hall. Those lucky enough to defend their
work must do so in the auditorium where Monaco's Centre de Congress meets. The platform is formidable enough to shake even the most confident of speakers. Remember, 95% of the audience are Ph. Ds.
Those relegated to the exhibit hall don't seem too upset. In fact, the poster presentations generate more discussion then the speeches. In this setting, we are
able to see intellectuals comparing processes, looking for ways to share data, passing along contacts and quite often discussing their favorite topic: funding. The difficulty
in obtaining grants and the shortage of funding for scientific research is a plague felt throughout all countries of the world.
The main topics for Tuesday were radioactivity or more specifically radioisotopes,
quality assurance in labs and testing, biomonitors, remote sensing and conditions in the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea.
For many residents in North America, a discussion of non-natural radioactive
isotopes in our lakes and seas lies in the area of "threats" rather than reality. For those countries surrounding the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea however, this
situation is a fact of life. Dr. Ken Buessler of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute explained that Austria's weapons testing from 1955-1985 and the Chernobyl nuclear
disaster in 1986 introduced anthropogenic -- man-induced -- radioactive tracers such as Strontium and Cesium to these seas.
Among the many discussions on environmental conditions in the Black Sea, on of the
most sobering was Dr. G. Polikarpov's. A member of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences and a prominent scientist in the former Soviet Union, Polikarpov told
participants about recent results in ascertaining the effects of nuclear vs. no-nuclear pollutants in the northern region of the Black Sea. The decline of once dominant
species of that area is staggering. Some of his data included the following:
- Mussels/mollusks: 60% - 90% of the population lost
- Crabs: 14 species lost 50% - 70% of the population
- Shrimps: 20 species lost 60% of the population
- Fish: 20 species lost 80% of the population
- Marine mammals (dolphins): 3 species lost 90% - 95% of the population
Polikarpov concluded his report by stating that we cannot blame these mortality rates solely upon Chernobyl. He found that non-nuclear pollutants were as
responsible as nuclear pollutants for the severe declines. He suggests eutrophication and industrial pollution are reasons for the deaths.
