DDT Banned in 1972, But Still Poisoning Us and Our Oceans

Have you ever heard of DDT?

It was banned in 1972, but in order to get rid of the excess that was produced, nearly HALF A MILLION barrels of it were dumped in the the ocean off the coast of California in the San Pedro Basin, between Catalina and the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

Researchers have estimated there is 1,535 TONs of DDT on the sea floor, slowly oozing out of the dumped barrels.

Their existence has been known about for DECADES, and each time it was brought up (until recently) agencies brushed it aside, or just covered it with sand (literally) hoping it would go away on it's own.

But the “fun” thing about DDT is that it is very stable and doesn't break down. Instead it has been leeching out into the water, where it is collecting and bio accumulating in fish, dolphins, and other aquatic species as its makes its way up the food chain.

In October 2020, the dumped barrels made news headlines and in a few short months, scientists from Scripps were able to put together a team of 31 researchers, get a vessel (Sally Ride), and create a method to survey the area using the equivalent of deep sea rumbas.

The team started their work on March 10th 2021 and are expected to be finished on March 24th 2021.

Each of the ROV's deployed will survey the ocean floor for 12-16 hours before returning to recharge. While one is charging, one will be able to survey.

They hope to have the data available to be studied further approximately 30 days after the expedition on NOAA's website.

Will bucketlists locations be around by the time we get there?

Image Courtesy of: https://www.needpix.com/search/sand%20bucket

The Great Barrier Reef is having a rough time of things recently. They have been dealing with mass bleaching events, pollution, cyclones, and now they can add rain, and water pollution to that.

Recent rains have caused the Burdekin River to flood its banks and carry muddy run off, that likely contains harmful agricultural chemicals like phosphorous and nitrogen which are known to kill corals, directly into the waters in and around the GBR.

Typically during these rain events, strong winds will push the polluted toxic water further out to sea and keep it from sitting stagnant and concentrated near the reefs, but this time that is not the case.

If that weren’t enough, the reefs are also getting dumped on-literally-thanks to a loophole in the protections surrounding the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. In 2015, the federal goverment banned dredge spoil disposal near the reef, however it only applied to capital dredging, not the maintenance dredging done to keep the shipping channels clear for ships.

Its the maintenance dredging waste that will be dumped near the reef beginning in march, just after all the floods have washed so much run off into the near shore waters.

Dumping isn’t the only option, but it is a cheaper alternative to treating the dredged up material and disposing of it on land. The North Queensland Bulk Port Authority says they have done a peer reviewed dumping plan to determine what is best for the reef. Their risk assessment found the risks to the MPA were very low, with minor short term impacts to benthic habitats.

While I understand that the shipping channels need to stay clear for ships, it seems like there should be a better solution than dumping the dredged waste into the already sensitive ecosystem, and adding to the current mirad of issues. As always, I am hopeful the government, environmentalists, and authorities can work together to come up with a solution that benefits everyone.