Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2022L01285:reg:3:p18
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2022L01285
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 3 (pt 18/26)
Character Range: 118611–121418

2002).
On a broader ecological scale, oil may be retained in sediments for many years, leading to the temporary or permanent loss of species critical to the ecological balance of an ecosystem. In addition, crude oil is essentially a mixture of many hydrocarbon compounds, some of which are toxic and/or persistent. These can accumulate in the marine food chain (described above) and may potentially lead to lethal or sub-lethal changes in metabolic functions (Baker 1983, GESAMP 1993). Albatrosses and petrels are highly vulnerable to the hazards of oil or fuel spills as they spend much of their foraging time on the sea surface (Baker et al. 2002).
Chemical contaminants
The two broad categories of chemical pollutants are persistent organic pollutants (POPs), such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs), and heavy metals, such as mercury and cadmium. PCBs and PCNs are a mixture of chlorinated compounds that do not occur naturally. These compounds are highly toxic and, depending on concentration and exposure time can lead to a variety of serious health effects (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 2000).
POPs and heavy metals are now global contaminants reaching regions far from their original areas of production or use. Elevated levels of POPs and heavy metals have been found in the plasma of adults, chicks and eggs of seabirds from every continent (including Antarctica) and virtually all islands across the globe (Croxall et al. 1984, Auman et al. 1997, Ludwig et al. 1998). Carrion feeders, such as albatrosses and petrels, had noticeably higher levels (Becker et al. 2016). POPs and mercury contamination can lead to reduced hatching and fledging success, and can disrupt the endocrine system, that is the secretion of hormones that regulate behaviours (Tartu et al. 2015, Goutte et al. 2014). As albatrosses and petrels are long-lived and typically highly dispersive, they tend to accumulate high levels of chemical contaminants (Muirhead & Furness 1988, Luke et al. 1989, Lock et al. 1992, Auman et al. 1997, Ludwig et al. 1998, Stewart et al. 1999), with the potential risk of population declines (Luke et al. 1989, Auman et al. 1997, Ludwig et al. 1998).
A number of albatross and petrel species carry unusually high concentrations of heavy metals, in particular cadmium and mercury (Muirhead & Furness 1988, Luke et al. 1989, Lock et al. 1992, Thompson et al. 1993, Stewart et al. 1999, Hindell et al. 1999, Becker et al. 2002). Mercury levels in the liver in Wandering, Sooty and Northern and Southern Royal albatrosses are among the highest recorded for free-living birds (Stewart et al. 1999, Goutte et al. 2014).

Marine debris
Marine debris comprises a variety of materials including timber, glass, rubber, metal and plastics. An