Peeing secretly in the middle of the beach bath is a widespread habit among vacationers that, however, enjoys a dubious reputation, since it is assumed that our organic waste contaminates the marine ecosystem. Nothing could be further from the truth, since human urine not only does not harm the ocean in any way, but it is beneficial for the plant life that flourishes there . This is stated in a video published by the American Chemical Society, which aims to “dilute” all the unfounded prejudices around this harmless practice, which is punishable in the case of the swimming pool.
Unlike sun creams, which when dissolved in water release toxic components that do pose a risk to the environment, rust is totally harmless, as it is made up of 95 percent water, as astronauts well know. The remaining 5 percent is made up of sodium and chloride, substances that are found naturally in sea water, potassium being also present in both liquids .
Not even the release of urea, a toxic substance produced by cellular metabolism, is unsanitary in proportion to the 350,000,000,000,000,000,000 liters of water that the ocean contains. Even if everyone agreed and urinated at the same time, the amount of waste expelled would not exceed 60 liters per billion liters. Its high nitrogen composition also contributes to the production of ammonia, which serves as food for marine plants.
As if that were not enough, the American Chemical Society recalls that human beings are not the only ones who like to evacuate underwater; a single whale expels 250 liters of urine per day, with amounts of sodium and chloride 23 times higher than ours.
There is no reason, therefore, to put up with the overwhelming urge to urinate, unless we want to make a wise decision, for which, as they have shown, it is useful to keep the bladder full.
The big ones affected by the urine of the sea
Remember that urine is 95% water , but it also contains sodium and chloride ions, the same chemicals that make seawater salty. Pee is less salty than seawater, which makes ocean water slightly less salty when mixed.
Urine is also full of waste products such as urea, which comes from breaking down proteins in the human diet, as well as bacteria and traces of drugs such as antibiotics and contraceptives.
There are some areas of the sea where urine can be incredibly harmful, such as Maya Bay in Thailand , which will remain closed until 2021 to ensure its conservation. There, coral reefs are the direct victims of urine.
And is that nitrogen makes the algae grow, and this is harmful to the coral.
“If there are many people who urinate in an area that is not well renovated because it has little exchange of new water, it could be a problem because excess nitrogen fuels the growth of algae, which has a negative impact on corals and other animals “explained Stephanie Wear, Marine Ecologist and Principal Scientist at The Nature Conservancy.
Drug chemicals in the human body are also known to damage coral reefs by upsetting the balance of microbes.
