Industrial Wastewater Discharge

Industrial wastewater discharge ranks as the third worst source, releasing heavy metals and solvents that poison marine life. An estimated 80% of global wastewater is dumped untreated into rivers feeding oceans, a proportion that is 20% higher than the average treatment rate in developed nations. In Asia, factories emit mercury and lead at concentrations 10 times above safe limits, causing bioaccumulation far worse than #4 Ghost Nets' physical entanglement.