After World War II, Montrose Chemical Corporation of California, 20201 S. Normandie Ave., Unincorporated LA County, California began producing Dichloro-Diphenyl-Trichloroethane (DDT), the new “wonder pesticide”. Its waste disposal system funneled the plant’s processed waste into the county sewer system and ultimately into the ocean. Montrose continued producing DDT even in the face of increasing scientific concerns about DDT in the 1960s. Production did not stop until 1982. The site discharged an estimated 1,700 tons of DDT between the late 1950s and early 1970s alone, which contaminated ocean sediments on the floor of the Palos Verdes Shelf (PVS) near Los Angeles, California.
By designating Montrose Chemical as a Superfund site, the federal government put it on the National Priorities List as a hazardous waste site. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was then committed to cleaning up the PVS and making the public aware of all health risks.
Read more about Montrose Chemical Corporation Of California: Environmental Impacts and Health Risks of DDT, Studies, Policy Changes and Cleanup
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