Benthic population studies of a North Sea disposal area used for industrial liquid waste.

The disposal of industrial waste at sea is a subject which, justifiably, arouses a great deal of public interest. This paper presents the data from one aspect of a continuing, multi-disciplinary, programme which monitors the disposal of acid waste to a liquid waste disposal area. The benthic infaunal populations of both the disposal and a control area have been studied over a five-year period. The resulting data are analysed, using multi-variate techniques, and it is concluded that there is no evidence that disposal operations have altered the diversity or abundance of the benthic fauna. The distribution of the different faunal groupings within the areas appears to be related to sediment type.