Scientists discover massive dumping ground for toxic DDT pesticide just off LA coast

11/11/2020 / By Divina Ramirez

Using a deep-sea robot, researchers from the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) discovered an extensive ecological disaster that has eluded scientists for decades.

Sitting on the ocean floor just off the coast of Santa Catalina Island in Los Angeles are rusting, leaking barrels — about 60 in total. A close inspection of deep-sea sediments collected from the site showed that the barrels were filled with dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), a highly toxic pollutant and a known carcinogen.

“It has been sitting here this whole time, right off our shore,” said David Valentine, a professor of earth science at UCSB who was part of the research team. Valentine himself is no stranger to speculations that the notorious chemical, which has been banned since the 1970s, was hiding in the deep ocean this entire time, slowly fouling it.

Hidden dumping ground

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