Thousands of barrels of suspected toxic DDT found dumped in California ocean

[turbinetree]

Extent of possible toxic waste site near Catalina Island ‘staggering’, says chief scientist on sea survey

Marine scientists say they have found what they believe to be as many as 25,000 barrels possibly containing DDT dumped off the southern California coast near Catalina Island, where a massive underwater toxic waste site dating back to the second world war has long been suspected.

The 27,345 “barrel-like’” images were captured by researchers at the University of California San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography. They mapped more than 36,000 acres of seafloor between Santa Catalina Island and the Los Angeles coast in a region previously found to contain high levels of the toxic chemical in sediments and in the ecosystem.

Historical shipping logs show that industrial companies in southern California used the basin as a dumping ground until 1972, when the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act, also known as the Ocean Dumping Act, was enacted.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/apr/27/up-to-25000-barrels-found-at-suspected-ddt-dump-off-california-say-scientists

[getagrip_already]

1. there are several toxic waste dumps off the new england coast.....

They are clearly marked on marine charts. Several contain mustard gas goop and nerve toxins. Every once in a while a dragger brings one up and all hell breaks loose.

Part of the problem is that it was a common practice for the haulers to short drop them. Rather than going 100 miles, they would drop them anywhere they felt out of the sight of land.

Dumping problems at sea was very common post wwII.