Table 2.

Examples of microbial and chemical contaminants found in oceans that pose health risks to humans, possible sources of the contaminants, and typical symptoms or the disease induced by exposure to the contaminant.

Contaminant	Possible source	Symptoms or disease
Vibrio cholera	Human sanitary waste	Cholera
Norwalk Virus	Human sanitary waste	Gastroenteritis
Mercury	Burning coal, industrial use	Neurodevelopmental toxicity, adult toxicity
Persistent organic pollutants	Industrial waste	Immunologic, cancer, reproductive