Wednesday October 30, 2024
UC San Diego —
The toxic pesticide DDT was dumped into the ocean off Southern California more than 50 years ago by the Montrose Chemical Corporation, and it is still contaminating fish and sediments in the region decades later, according to researchers. Banned in 1972, the pesticide is now known to harm human and wildlife health, with prior research linking it to cancer as well as reproductive and neurological issues.
UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography is one of numerous institutions exploring the extent of the environmental damage still being caused by DDT contamination, especially at a series of offshore dumpsites that gained public attention in 2020.
Now, new research led by Scripps Oceanography combines nine different datasets spanning two decades to provide a comprehensive look at DDT contamination in Southern California’s ocean sediments and fishes. The study, published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and supported by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Science Foundation, revealed new patterns and some good news.