Nearly 25,000 barrels of toxic Chemicals were found off the coast of Los Angeles after sitting for decades. Last month it was confirmed that thousands of barrels filled with Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane and other Chemicals have been eroding off the Los Angeles Coast for decades.
Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane is one of the most famous Chemicals in the world, immortalized by Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, which is credited with kickstarting the modern environmental movement in the U.S. Rachel Carson said that it is not a statement that insecticides must never be used. But it is essential to put poisonous and biologically potent indiscriminately into the hands of persons largely or wholly naive of their potential for harm. They have caused a huge number of people to contact these poisons without their consent and often without their knowledge.
Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane was first used during World War II to fight typhus. Eventually, it made its way to the U.S. mainland, where it was used for decades as a pesticide until it was banned in 1972. This ban came nearly a decade after Silent Spring in response to the public outrage about its possible carcinogenic qualities. These are linked to the decline of a plethora of wildlife which includes the bald eagle. Although it is still used today in some countries to control mosquito-borne malaria, the Chemicals has been outright banned in dozens of countries.
Cleanup of sites is lengthy and expensive and comes after decades of litigation between the government and corporations with unlimited resources and money to spend. Not only banning a after it has been used for decades is not enough. Until these companies are effectively held accountable for their actions and forced to be liable for the damage they have caused to human health and the environment, wildlife and human life will continue to pay the price.