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Montrose Chemical Corporation of California

Coordinates: 33°50′55″N 118°18′3″W / 33.84861°N 118.30083°W / 33.84861; -118.30083
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Montrose Chemical Corporation of California
IndustryChemical industry
Founded1947 (1947)
Defunct1982 (1982), 34–35 years active
Headquarters
Torrance, California
,
United States (Postal address)
Key people
Samuel Rotrosen
Pincus Rothberg
ProductsChemicals, notably DDT
Superfund site
Geography
CityLos Angeles
CountyLos Angeles
StateCalifornia
Coordinates33°50′55″N 118°18′3″W / 33.84861°N 118.30083°W / 33.84861; -118.30083
Information
ContaminantsDDT
List of Superfund sites

The Montrose Chemical Corporation of California was a chemical corporation that was the largest producer of the insecticide DDT in the United States from 1947 until it stopped production in 1982.[1] Its improper disposal of chemical waste from DDT production resulted in serious environmental damage to the Pacific Ocean near Los Angeles,[2] and its former main plant in Harbor Gateway South area of Los Angeles[3] near Torrance, California has been designated as a Superfund site by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.[4][5]

Environmental impact

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Further information: Chemical dumps in ocean off Southern California

Between the late 1950s and early 1970s, the company was responsible for discharging an estimated 1,700 tons of DDT into the ocean via the county's sewer system, which contaminated sediment on the ocean floor off the coast of Los Angeles.[6] In addition, the company dumped hundreds of thousands of barrels containing waste laced with DDT at a deep sea site located between the California coast and Santa Catalina Island during the same time period.

Some of the barrels were dumped considerably closer to the coast than the designated deep sea site, and many of the barrels were punctured beforehand to ensure that they would sink. In 2011 and 2013, Professor David Valentine and a research team at UC Santa Barbara discovered barrels of DDT leaking on the ocean floor which extended well beyond the spills at Montrose's Superfund site.[7][8][9][10] A grant was awarded to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in 2022 to fully characterize the dumpsite situation.[11]

DDT and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) move from contaminated sediments into the water, so although the dumping of DDT stopped in 1982, the Palos Verdes Shelf remains contaminated.[6] DDT and PCBs enter the food chain through worms and micro-organisms living in the sediment. 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.[6]

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.[6] As a part of the Superfund project, the EPA is looking to reinforce the commercial and recreational fishing ban on white croaker.[12]

Until as recently as 2007, bald eagles on Santa Catalina Island were unable to reproduce because the DDT caused their eggshells to become too thin and to break open before the eagle was fully developed.[13] California sea lions have high levels of DDT and a high rate of cancer which is rare in wild animals.[14]

Lawsuits

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In October 1989, the former Montrose Chemical site was added to the Superfund National Priorities List. In 1990, the United States and California filed lawsuits against Montrose Chemical and nine other facilities near the Palos Verdes peninsula, citing damages to the nearby marine environment.[citation needed]

In December 2000, the Montrose Chemical Corporation of California and three other corporations settled their lawsuits for a collective $77 million. When combined with prior lawsuits, this brought the total up to $140 million to fund the restoration of the Palos Verdes Shelf marine environment.[15][16][17]

The issue of insurance coverage under Montrose Chemical's insurance policies for cleanup costs has been litigated for many decades in California courts, resulting in landmark opinions of the Supreme Court of California in 1993,[18] 1995,[19] and 2020.[20]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Health Implications of Toxic Chemical Contamination of the Santa Monica Bay: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Health and the Environment of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives, Ninety-ninth Congress, Second Session, February 10, 1986. Vol. 4. United States Government Printing Office. 1986. p. 15.
  2. ^ Kehoe, T., & Jacobson, C. (2003). "Environmental Decision Making and DDT Production at Montrose Chemical Corporation of California". Enterprise & Society, 4(4), 640-675. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
  3. ^ Barragan, Bianca (January 25, 2016). "LA's Harbor Gateway is Close to Getting Its First Park and It's on a Superfund Site". Curbed LA. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  4. ^ "MONTROSE CHEMICAL CORP. TORRANCE, CA". United States Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  5. ^ Mazza, Sandy (September 14, 2014). "EPA seeks public input on cleaning heavy DDT contamination in Harbor Gateway". Daily Breeze. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d "Region 9: Cleaning up the Palos Verdes Shelf". US Environmental Protection Agency. Archived from the original on February 18, 2004. Retrieved February 23, 2024.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  7. ^ Xia, Rosanna (October 25, 2020). "How the waters off Catalina became a DDT dumping ground". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  8. ^ Chartrano, Allan (March 1985). "Ocean Dumping Under Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board Permit: A Review of Past Practices, Potential Adverse Impacts, and Recommendations for Future Action". California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Los Angeles Region. Resolution 85-4: 51 – via DocumentCloud.
  9. ^ Beradelli, Jeff (April 12, 2021). "How a shocking environmental disaster was uncovered off the California coast after 70 years". CBS News. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  10. ^ Watson, Julie (April 27, 2021). "Scientists: Up to 25,000 barrels at DDT dump site in Pacific". AP NEWS. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
  11. ^ Huang, Tianrui (January 9, 2023). "Scripps Institute of Oceanography Granted $5.6 Million to Study DDT Dumpsite off the Coast of California". UCSD Guardian. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  12. ^ Palos Verdes Ecology 2002.
  13. ^ Cone, Marla (March 13, 2013). "The Mystery of the Vanishing DDT in the Ocean Near Los Angeles". Scientific American.
  14. ^ "'Overwhelming': Scientists Confirm Massive DDT Dumping Ground On Ocean Floor Between Long Beach, Catalina Island". CBS LA. April 12, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  15. ^ Mazza, Sandy (December 20, 2015). "Harbor Gateway Superfund site cleanup on hold". Daily Breeze. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  16. ^ "California Supreme Court Ruling Will Enable Montrose to Tap Excess Policies" Don Jergler, April 7, 2020, Insurance Journal https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/west/2020/04/07/563642.htm
  17. ^ "Montrose Chemical Corp. Agrees to $77M in Consent Decrees in 31-Year Lawsuit Over DDT Pollution" Meghann M. Cuniff, October 04, 2021, Law.com https://www.law.com/therecorder/2021/10/04/montrose-chemical-corp-agrees-to-77m-in-consent-decrees-in-31-year-lawsuit-over-ddt-pollution/?slreturn=20240121144805
  18. ^ Montrose Chemical Corp. v. Superior Court, 6 Cal. 4th 287, 24 Cal. Rptr. 2d 467, 861 P.2d 1153 (1993).
  19. ^ Montrose Chemical Corp. v. Admiral Ins. Co. 10 Cal. 4th 645, 42 Cal. Rptr. 2d 324, 897 P.2d 1 (1995).
  20. ^ Montrose Chemical Corp. of California v. Superior Court, 9 Cal. 5th 215, 260 Cal. Rptr. 3d 822, 460 P.3d 1201 (2020).

Further reading

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