And, realistically, coral reefs are so efficient at handling wastes.
I really didn't mean stuff like sewage/human waste. I meant the nasty chemicals that end up in the ocean that are going to stick around for a long time doing god knows what.

I saw a show (nova or something) where these scientist were analyzing whale blubber for such nasty chemicals. They were finding all kinds of stuff. The whales were used since they are long lived and at the top of the food chain so they would be more likely to accumulate the stuff in their tissue. Also they were saying that many chemicals are deemed safe by the government by themselves but when they end up in the ocean together they combine to form not sfae chemicals.

They were trying to figure out a way to tell what happens when all these different chemicals were mixed. Not an easy task I would think. What happens when you mix ANYTHING with EVERYTHING else....hmmm tough one.