International scientific literature is used to review relevant data concerning pollution of the world's oceans. Chapters 1, 8 and 9 address themselves to the problems of international control of marine pollution. Chapter 1 introduces the importance of the time factor, revealing information on how long it takes a pollutant to reach an undesirable level, how long it will take that level to become acceptable upon removal of the pollutant supply, and how long it takes governmental agencies to react following discovery by scientific assessment or catastrophy. Modes of predicting potential pollutants are examined in Chapter 8; Chapter 9 reveals strategies for global monitoring of pollutants. Chapter 2 discusses the dynamics (transport paths, fluxes, mass-balance models, historical records) of marine pollutants. Chapters 3-7 define and detail the five major groups of ocean pollutants. Biological and environmental impacts are assessed for each of the following synthetic halogenated hydrocarbons (DDT, PCBs, HCB, Mirex, etc.), radioactive materials, heavy metals (e.g., lead, mercury, cadmium), petroleum hydrocarbons (crude oil, refined products, and biogenous hydrocarbons), and litter. Included is such information as pollutant mobilization by man or nature, measurements of the levels of pollutants in water, air, and sediments, and impacts on living systems. (CS)