Montrose Chemical Corporation of California
Encyclopedia
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.” Their 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 ended up contaminating 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.
s (PCBs) move from contaminated sediments into the water, so although the dumping of DDT stopped in 1983, the PVS remains contaminated.
DDT and PCBs enter the food chain
through worms and microorganisms living in the sediment. One fish may eat many of these organisms causing the DDT and PCBs to accumulate in fish tissue. Fish-eating birds, marine mammals, and birds of prey that feed on both, accumulate more of the toxins.
Since 1985, fish consumption advisories and health warnings have been posted in southern California because of elevated DDT and PCB levels. Bottom-feeding fish are particularly at risk for high contamination levels. Consumption of white croaker
, which has the highest contamination levels, should be avoided. Other bottom-feeding fish, including kelp bass
, rockfish
, queenfish
, black croaker, sheepshead
, surfperches, and sculpin
, are also highly contaminated.
The effects of DDT differ depending on the organism it infects. Bald eagles on Catalina Island
are unable to reproduce because the DDT causes their eggshells to become too thin and break open before the eaglet
is fully developed. For people, DDT and PCBs can increase cancer risks, harm the liver, and affect the central nervous system. Nursing infants whose mothers regularly consume the fish are at especially high risk.
As a part of the Superfund
project, the EPA is looking to reinforce the commercial and recreational fishing ban on white croaker.
October 1989 - The former Montrose Chemical site was added to the Superfund National Priorities List
(NPL).
1990 - The United States
and the State of California
filed lawsuits against Montrose Chemical and nine other facilities near the Palos Verdes
peninsula, citing damages to the nearby marine environment.
determined that the ocean floor was contaminated with 100 metric tons of DDT and 10 tons of PCB over an area of 27 square miles (69.9 km²).
July 1996 - The EPA began investigating options for cleaning up the DDT- and PCB- polluted ocean sediments.
March 2000 – The EPA increased enforcement of the commercial fishing ban and recreational catch limit for white croaker
along the Palos Verdes
coast, began educating people about fish consumption advisories, monitored contaminant levels in commercially sold fish, and announced a plan to cap the polluted ocean sediment with clean sediment.
December 2000 – Montrose Chemical Corporation of California and three other corporations settled their lawsuits for a collective $73 million. When combined with prior lawsuits, this brought the total up to $140 million to fund the restoration of the PVS marine environment.
Since 1997, the EPA has implemented a control program with three major elements: public outreach and education, fish monitoring, and enforcement. The fish monitoring program involves sampling both fish in the ocean and fish in retail markets. The MSRP and EPA completed the ocean fish sampling program in July 2007. EPA utilized the data to update the risk assessments for the site. EPA and the public are currently awaiting the State of California to update the existing fish advisory based on the recent data. EPA continues to sample white croakers at local markets. The first phase effort started in 2004. Finally, EPA is working with the local county health departments on marketplace inspection. EPA will be working with the California Department of Fish and Game to enhance enforcement of the white croaker commercial fishing ban off Palos Verdes peninsula and the daily catch limit on white croaker for noncommercial anglers.
Currently, the EPA is its 5th year of full implementation of the public outreach and education program. The EPA created the Fish Contamination Education Collaborative (FCEC), as a mechanism for drawing interested agencies, groups and community based organizations together to design and implement a community based outreach program to address the health risks from eating contaminated fish related to the Palos Verdes Shelf site. The current program focus is to measure risk reduction through the ICs program implementation. EPA, with assistance from all stakeholders, put together a draft roadmap for the Institutional Controls Program which outlines the numeric objectives and associated strategies and tactics for the program.
Four investigation studies were done during 2004. EPA prepared a Proposed Plan that presents the remedial alternatives, and identifies EPA’s preferred alternative for the PV Shelf site. The Proposed Plan has been mailed to the site mailing list and posted on the website. EPA has met informally with interested community groups. The EPA sought public comment on the Proposed Plan from June 15 thru July 15, 2009, and a response to comments (Responsiveness Summary) will be included with the Record of Decision.
EPA initiated its work on the Palos Verdes Shelf as a non-time-critical removal action and is implementing the institutional controls program under that authority. EPA continued with the evaluation of ecological risks and sediment cleanup activities such as capping under its remedial program authority. The cleanup decision will be documented in a Record of Decision, supported by the remedial investigation/feasibility study (RI/FS).
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Montrose Chemical Corporation of California, 20201 S. Normandie Ave., Unincorporated LA County, California began producing Dichloro-Diphenyl-Trichloroethane (DDT), the new “wonder pesticide.” Their 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 ended up contaminating ocean sediments on the floor of the Palos Verdes Shelf (PVS) near Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
.
By designating Montrose Chemical as a Superfund site, the federal government put it on the National Priorities List
National Priorities List
The National Priorities List is the list of hazardous waste sites in the United States eligible for long-term remedial action financed under the federal Superfund program. Environmental Protection Agency regulations outline a formal process for assessing hazardous waste sites and placing them on...
as a hazardous waste site. The United States Environmental Protection Agency
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
(EPA) was then committed to cleaning up the PVS and making the public aware of all health risks.
Environmental impacts and health risks of DDT
DDT and Polychlorinated biphenylPolychlorinated biphenyl
Polychlorinated biphenyls are a class of organic compounds with 2 to 10 chlorine atoms attached to biphenyl, which is a molecule composed of two benzene rings. The chemical formula for PCBs is C12H10-xClx...
s (PCBs) move from contaminated sediments into the water, so although the dumping of DDT stopped in 1983, the PVS remains contaminated.
DDT and PCBs enter the food chain
Food chain
A food web depicts feeding connections in an ecological community. Ecologists can broadly lump all life forms into one of two categories called trophic levels: 1) the autotrophs, and 2) the heterotrophs...
through worms and microorganisms living in the sediment. One fish may eat many of these organisms causing the DDT and PCBs to accumulate in fish tissue. Fish-eating birds, marine mammals, and birds of prey that feed on both, accumulate more of the toxins.
Since 1985, fish consumption advisories and health warnings have been posted in southern California because of elevated DDT and PCB levels. Bottom-feeding fish are particularly at risk for high contamination levels. Consumption of white croaker
White croaker
White croaker is a species of croaker occurring in the Eastern Pacific. White croakers have been taken from Magdalena Bay, Baja California, to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, but are not abundant north of San Francisco. White croakers swim in loose schools at or near the bottom of sandy areas...
, which has the highest contamination levels, should be avoided. Other bottom-feeding fish, including kelp bass
Kelp Bass
The Kelp Bass , sometimes referred to as the Calico Bass , is a species of marine fish found in the north-eastern Pacific Ocean from Baja California, Mexico, to Washington, USA...
, rockfish
Sebastidae
Sebastidae is a family of marine fish in the order Scorpaeniformes. Their common names include rockfishes, thornyheads and rockcods. Despite the latter name, they are not closely related to the cods in the genus Gadus, nor the rock cod, Lotella rhacina.Not all authorities recognise this family as...
, queenfish
Queenfish
Queenfish are a species of croaker occurring from Uncle Sam Bank, Baja California, to Yaquina Bay, Oregon; they are the only species in the genus Seriphus. They are common during summer in shallow water around pier pilings on sandy bottoms. They are found at depths up to 180 feet; however, occur...
, black croaker, sheepshead
Sheepshead
Sheepshead or Sheephead is a trick-taking card game related to the Skat family of games. It is the Americanized version of a card game that originated in Central Europe in the late 18th century under the German name Schafkopf. Although Schafkopf literally means "sheepshead", it has nothing to do...
, surfperches, and sculpin
Sculpin
A Sculpin is a fish that belongs to the order Scorpaeniformes, suborder Cottoidei and superfamily Cottoidea, that contains 11 families, 149 genera, and 756 species...
, are also highly contaminated.
The effects of DDT differ depending on the organism it infects. Bald eagles on Catalina Island
Santa Catalina Island, California
Santa Catalina Island, often called Catalina Island, or just Catalina, is a rocky island off the coast of the U.S. state of California. The island is long and across at its greatest width. The island is located about south-southwest of Los Angeles, California. The highest point on the island is...
are unable to reproduce because the DDT causes their eggshells to become too thin and break open before the eaglet
Eagle
Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
is fully developed. For people, DDT and PCBs can increase cancer risks, harm the liver, and affect the central nervous system. Nursing infants whose mothers regularly consume the fish are at especially high risk.
As a part of the Superfund
Superfund
Superfund is the common name for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 , a United States federal law designed to clean up sites contaminated with hazardous substances...
project, the EPA is looking to reinforce the commercial and recreational fishing ban on white croaker.
October 1989 - The former Montrose Chemical site was added to the Superfund National Priorities List
National Priorities List
The National Priorities List is the list of hazardous waste sites in the United States eligible for long-term remedial action financed under the federal Superfund program. Environmental Protection Agency regulations outline a formal process for assessing hazardous waste sites and placing them on...
(NPL).
1990 - The United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the State of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
filed lawsuits against Montrose Chemical and nine other facilities near the Palos Verdes
Palos Verdes
Palos Verdes is a name often used to refer to a group of coastal cities in the Palos Verdes Hills on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, within southwestern Los Angeles County in the U.S...
peninsula, citing damages to the nearby marine environment.
Studies
1994 – The Federal and State Natural Resources Trusteesdetermined that the ocean floor was contaminated with 100 metric tons of DDT and 10 tons of PCB over an area of 27 square miles (69.9 km²).
July 1996 - The EPA began investigating options for cleaning up the DDT- and PCB- polluted ocean sediments.
Policy changes and cleanup
In 1990, the federal and state natural resource trustees began a natural resource damage assessment for the Southern California Bight, which includes the Palos Verdes Shelf. Following a review of the Trustees' 1994 expert reports, EPA in July 1996 initiated a Superfund non-time critical removal action to evaluate the need for and feasibility of actions to address human health and ecological risks. In July 1997, EPA completed the Screening Evaluation of Response Actions for Contaminated Sediment on the Palos Verdes Shelf.March 2000 – The EPA increased enforcement of the commercial fishing ban and recreational catch limit for white croaker
White croaker
White croaker is a species of croaker occurring in the Eastern Pacific. White croakers have been taken from Magdalena Bay, Baja California, to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, but are not abundant north of San Francisco. White croakers swim in loose schools at or near the bottom of sandy areas...
along the Palos Verdes
Palos Verdes
Palos Verdes is a name often used to refer to a group of coastal cities in the Palos Verdes Hills on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, within southwestern Los Angeles County in the U.S...
coast, began educating people about fish consumption advisories, monitored contaminant levels in commercially sold fish, and announced a plan to cap the polluted ocean sediment with clean sediment.
December 2000 – Montrose Chemical Corporation of California and three other corporations settled their lawsuits for a collective $73 million. When combined with prior lawsuits, this brought the total up to $140 million to fund the restoration of the PVS marine environment.
Since 1997, the EPA has implemented a control program with three major elements: public outreach and education, fish monitoring, and enforcement. The fish monitoring program involves sampling both fish in the ocean and fish in retail markets. The MSRP and EPA completed the ocean fish sampling program in July 2007. EPA utilized the data to update the risk assessments for the site. EPA and the public are currently awaiting the State of California to update the existing fish advisory based on the recent data. EPA continues to sample white croakers at local markets. The first phase effort started in 2004. Finally, EPA is working with the local county health departments on marketplace inspection. EPA will be working with the California Department of Fish and Game to enhance enforcement of the white croaker commercial fishing ban off Palos Verdes peninsula and the daily catch limit on white croaker for noncommercial anglers.
Currently, the EPA is its 5th year of full implementation of the public outreach and education program. The EPA created the Fish Contamination Education Collaborative (FCEC), as a mechanism for drawing interested agencies, groups and community based organizations together to design and implement a community based outreach program to address the health risks from eating contaminated fish related to the Palos Verdes Shelf site. The current program focus is to measure risk reduction through the ICs program implementation. EPA, with assistance from all stakeholders, put together a draft roadmap for the Institutional Controls Program which outlines the numeric objectives and associated strategies and tactics for the program.
Four investigation studies were done during 2004. EPA prepared a Proposed Plan that presents the remedial alternatives, and identifies EPA’s preferred alternative for the PV Shelf site. The Proposed Plan has been mailed to the site mailing list and posted on the website. EPA has met informally with interested community groups. The EPA sought public comment on the Proposed Plan from June 15 thru July 15, 2009, and a response to comments (Responsiveness Summary) will be included with the Record of Decision.
EPA initiated its work on the Palos Verdes Shelf as a non-time-critical removal action and is implementing the institutional controls program under that authority. EPA continued with the evaluation of ecological risks and sediment cleanup activities such as capping under its remedial program authority. The cleanup decision will be documented in a Record of Decision, supported by the remedial investigation/feasibility study (RI/FS).