Dumped DDT causing high cancer rates in California sea lions

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Fishnut
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Dumped DDT causing high cancer rates in California sea lions

Post by Fishnut » Mon Apr 12, 2021 11:23 pm

"Scientists have confirmed the existence of a massive toxic dump site in the ocean between Long Beach and Catalina Island.

Rumors of a massive chemical dumping ground have persisted in the scientific community for at least 30 years, but it wasn’t until recently that local scientists confirmed the existence of a large chemical dump site in the waters of Southern California...

We’re talking about a hundred thousand, hundreds of thousands of barrels of industrial waste, much of it toxic, that we just dumped there because it was easy,” [lead researcher David] Valentine said.

...the news may help biologists understand the high levels of DDT in California’s sea lions and their startling rate of cancer, which they say is rare in wild animals.

“About 25% of adults, subadults, have cancer and that is an extremely alarming number,” Marine Mammal Center veterinarian Dr. Cara Field said.
[my emphasis]
News article here.

Paper here.
it's okay to say "I don't know"

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