Contact:  Lori Arguelles        FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
                                5/21/96

NOAA AND AMERICAN OCEANS CAMPAIGN RELEASE PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT RUNOFF POLLUTION

As Americans head to the shores this Memorial Day, they will be reminded that the beach really begins in their backyard. A new public service awareness campaign being launched by the Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the American Oceans Campaign is designed to draw attention to the simple things people can do in their backyards to help decrease polluted runoff, which eventually enters our coastal waters.

Narrated by AOC president and actor Ted Danson, the first public service announcement depicts the things people can do to reduce the pollution coming from their yards and gardens.

"A lot of people are unaware that many of their home maintenance activities -- like fertilizing the lawn, using harsh detergents, or cleaning paint brushes -- have a big negative impact on the nation's coasts," said D. James Baker, Commerce Department under secretary for oceans and atmosphere. "Runoff is one of the biggest contributors to water pollution, and is destructive to fragile coastal ecosystems."

"The things people can do to minimize that impact are so easy," added Danson. "For example, apply pesticides and fertilizers on your lawn sparingly, if at all; use environmentally-safe cleaning products; recycle used motor oil; and properly maintain your septic system."

According to scientists monitoring water quality at estuaries around the country, one of the primary sources of water pollution comes from basic household activities and products. Among the most frequently found polluters are chemicals used in homes, gardens and lawns. These chemical elements wash into streams, rivers, lakes and coastal waters.

Despite the grave consequences of using too much fertilizer, insecticide and herbicide, NOAA, the federal agency that oversees national coastal management, recently found that Americans underestimate that impact, not realizing that urban runoff is the leading source of pollution in coastal waters. In a random survey conducted last spring by an independent market research firm, only five percent of respondents identified polluted runoff from lawns, gardens and driveways as a major source of water pollution. Twenty-five percent of respondents blamed water pollution on untreated sewage and 20 percent pointed to industry pipes or oil spills as the biggest contributors.

As part of its environmental science mission, NOAA, an agency of the Department of Commerce, is responsible for managing America's coastal waters and monitoring and assessing the effects of marine pollution.

AOC is a non-profit, national environmental organization dedicated to the protection and restoration of marine and estuarine ecosystems.

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