Document Yj5MRKQNv7aeVQb94ajMk8by0

THE DEATH OF THE OCEANS Text of Luncheon Address Given To Commonwealth Club of California March 13, 1970 By Professor David Epel Hopkins Marine Station of Stanford Uniyersity Pacific Grove, California DSW 282032 STLCOPCB4063360 1 What I am going to tell you today may seem difficult to believe. Indeed, being an optimist, I find it hard bo believe myself. But, being a scientist, I have tried to objactively analyze the data and have come to the following two conclusions: The first is that the oceans are beginning to die from chemical pollution; the second--and even more disturbing---is that NOTHING is being done about it; very few people know about it; -- no one is watching the world. This chemical contamination ias begun to wipe out some species of oceanic birds. If left uncontrolled it will result in the death of the oceans. This contamination is not only the very visible oil pol lution we are hearing so much about these days. What I'm most concerned about, and what I want to discuss today, ia the in visible contamination of the oceans by long-lived chemicals. For the remainder of this talk I want to discuss fir(at the problem, and second, what can be done about it. I fully realize that this whole concept of oce anic contamination is difficult to imagine. Let's face it; when we talk of pollution of the seemingly endless oceans, we are really talking about global pollution. But in fact, there are already two well-documented examples of the chemical contamination of our entire planet. The first was that resulting from Strontium.90 (Sr90) and other isotopes released during nuclear testing. How did it happen? First, this radioactive isotope was release d into the atmosphere. There it was carried by global wind pat terns all DSW 282033 STLCOPCB4063361 2 over the earth to come down with rain and dust as radioactive fallout. Because Strontium is almost like calcium, it was concentrated by living organisms and thus got into our food. When we ate this contaminated food, the Sr^O, being like calcium, tended to concentrate in bone. Being radioactive, continued exposure to this radiation would have resulted in an increased incidence of cancer. Because of this global ccntamination by Sr^O and other radioactive elements, an internetional agreement was made to stop atmospheric nuclear testing. The next example--which is still all too current--is the global pollution by DDT. How did this happen? First of all DDT is also a long-lived chemical--just as the half-life of is 19 years, the half-life for DDT is between 10 and 30 years. Secondly, DDT is also released into this air during spraying or evaporates into the air after spraying. It too, is concentrated by living organisms and tends jto increase in concentration higher up in the food chain. How does it get to such high levels? Fijicst, it is fat- soluble, and even if present in minute amounts, the marine animals concentrate it--they literally scoop iit up--from the water. Second, it is not easily metabolized, The organisms cannot break it down or excrete it. Thus, DD1 gets into microscopic sea plants. The sea plants--with their DDT--are eaten by small fish. These fish--with their IDT--are eaten by still larger fish. Thus the DDT level gete higher and the highest levels are in those animals at the top3 of food chains -- such as the fish-eating birds. DSW 282034 STLCOPCB4063362 3 T7Pm= reasons this contamination is of such concern is that DDT is . poisonous chemical--which, of course, is the reason it is used -- an insecticide. The farmer assumes Lt stays in or near thei^ cield where he sprayed it. The contam|ination of the globe fctr- X)DT tells us that this is not the case Nos;--. did anyone in any government realize the extent of this pox--:--_ution? There were quite a few clues First, DDT was found Antarctic penguins; it was found in Arp tic seals and whales . well as in Eskimos. In other words, Ln areas where it was "vsr used. One would think that governjinent agencies response--t - -ie for our welfare would have thereforje looked at the oceans; rout instead the bulk of government surv eillance was with freshwarr-rr and terrestrial organisms. Ttrros. , the first solid evidence for the ma|5 sive extent of this glc_~---x.l pollution came from the laboratories of several universe~----p scientists, who looked beyond the imiijnediate and more drozsstic fish and bird kills. Through thei r investigations it has v - become apparent that the oceans are heavily polluted with DDTTT The most extensive survey has been m ade along the pacific Poast. The basic--and most surprising- -finding is that the coni-- -rumination of the coastal ocean is as gr eat---or greater- than man -freshwater areas. For example, it has been highly publicirr--ref that Lake Michigan coho salmon are too heavily con-, taminat--- with DDT to be sold in interstate comnerce. Simi- larly -- shockingly-Pacific coast jack macke rel can also no longer _ canned for human consumption. The Fo od and Drug DSW 282035 STLCOPCB4063363 itration has escm 1 in southern c_~ fishery. >DT has gotten a xic chemical ha-.-- which have the r: properly. Crc*~ ing eggs whose s Of two hundred a only two conta.-- d, dehydrated, dies off, they bviously the lira ir source is fiaa h? We don't kncm w levels of DDT a a completely did w whether fish y. I am concsrrna isheries--especia d decline. Thus, world--is gone, own, and has faaa. rs. The jack ma-- t the levels are n. The anchovy Although not r 4 :ntially halted all canning o jack -difornia. This is the death of an --iy; it has escaped. What eff ects will a? It has now been found tha t marine ^ghest DDT concentration, can not ren pelicans nesting in Califor nia are knells are too thin--the chick s never nests examined last year on A nacapa med normal eggs. The rest we re all sad. Thus, as the present ad ult gen-will not be replaced, ns are getting this DDT from somewhere, What effect is this DDT having on Studies on freshwater tro ut show mlso result in reproductive f ailure, zerent mechanism than in bird s. We do m the ocean are also sufferin g from DDT sad, however, because so many of the mlly off of California--are i n a process the sardine fishery--once t he largest The pacific mackerel catch i s drasti_aed to reproduce properly for the past mkerel don't seem to be suffe ring from so high they're unfit for hu man con_s one of the most abundant c oastal mo badly contaminated in nort hern DSW 282036 STLCOPCB4063364 fornia, the DDT levels in__ e times the FDA limit. What are the main lessors The first is that the c - the second is that it is -- r lakes and streams replan very few years. However, he sea. Thus, any persist ronment can--and are--encrz c and are concentrated b\r-- m environmental hazards. Okay, given these two < d think that national ancrz .toring the oceans, would -- -ne is, it's a well-kept _ = no such agencies and that=r d-watching are presently 'ersity research. What have these researcrrr :ioned, DDT and its derivam: globe. Secondly, a group of ir_m= id to DDT, are also being -- known as polychlorinated . / are used as electrical ------: Jticizers. Hundreds of mrr. i been produced and they : trations are very high in -- southern California anchovy are from the DDT storj ? There are sans are the toiletc of the world, ~ry easy to pollute them. Fresh- their water every few months mere is no plug in the bottom mt chemicals released into the up in our oceans, if they are organisms, these chemicals will naples of global pollution, one international agencies would be ; watching the world. Well, if zret. The fact is that there me only systematic programs of ling from inadequately-funded nrs found? First, is I already ives are being found all over istrial chemicals, chemically re aund everywhere. T1ese chemicals L-phenyls, or abbrev Lated as PCB's. uilators, as cutting oils, and as _ions of pounds of these chemicals e somehow escaped, Their conrganisms along the ktlantic and DSW 282037 STLCOPCB4063365 6 : coasts. in the North Sea c:______ d to have caused a very larc- ___ ! tens of thousands of birds............. lied by oil off of Santa Bar=n It is not clear how they he: -- :en found in wildlife, they ins, and in human milk. 'hirdly, the heavy metal, 1 e r- ------ ian a half-billion pounds of _______ ie air during the combustion irom the gas additive tetraec ..... :o the world. Research from ite of Oceanography has shown----------- : are in snow in Greenland, .gh lead concentrations near jeles. ,ead is also poisonous. Like_______ by marine organisms. Given agency looking after our sar:_ . :zz ; in marine organisms? if th-- - ;t. fourth, what about radioactiv-------_ 2come more severe in the futu.---------- ped. Who will look for global--------- 2d by these reactors? What - ir studies? If there is a da:... off of England they are ie bird kill last /ear, inThese are more birds than rbara! These compounds are :ave escaped. Just as they are also found in ourselves. ad, may also be a problem. lead are released each year of gasoline. Thi s lead ~hyl lead. It too is escapCaltech and the scripps r. that large amounts of lead and that the oceans contain coastal cities, such as :e DDT, it too can be concenthese facts, is a ny govern- rfety and examining the lead mey are, they are keeping it ve isotopes? Thi problem mre as nuclear re detors are :al pollution by i otopes will happen to th< results ranger, will anyth ng be done? DSW 282038 STLCOPCB4063366 7 nswer that. If we continue -- with our presently inadequate of world-watching, little me--:.----------------- _ sore will be done :.n the future as been done in the past. Obviously, something must be ---------------------------- done to correct this situa- since the preceding examples . ----- show the ease with which the cam be polluted. I would li.-----------------------....- S'- m. (1) First and most press^-- - .......-- -'o------ ernational commission or ager-- ............-- .Ke to propose a four-point -ang is the establishment of mcy to watch the world. This has to be international, si.- ... -- .nee this global pollution ts no national boundaries. Thus, the only manufacturer PCB's in the U.S. is Monsan-- :xo Chemical? but :hey are y other chemical companies _n Germany, France and Japan. ,to is apparently trying to r_------------------------------:izimd out how the POETs are ng and to provide substitute^--- =.. But will they? I don't Will responsible actions be --==. ..... - taken by the oth >r companies <an and France? Obviously sor;---r -- -- same sorts of inter lational >ls are needed. I propose that we consider t.- --he establishment of an envi- ital FDA (an environmental Foc-- - = aod and Drug Administration). in environmental FDA should e: ... examine all persistent chemicals are being produced and capab-E^^- ale of being released into the nment. They must determine _ --------------_____ i.f they can be concentrated janisms, such as is happenina ------------- r with DDT and the PCB's. data must be made public. mis agency must h,at ve the rity to stop the manufacture ------------ or release of pot ential mmental chemicals. DSW 282039 STLCOPCB4063367 8 vn example of the need to ex= :d in large quantity can be = j to the discovery of the gxx J's were discovered by chance: lyzed by the same methods use 3pt cropping up as unknown p strange peaks? Were they an... ome natural and unknown corape ? Finally, through painstakx are identified as the PCB's. \re there other unknown cherax ng into the world? We were be others? We must establish w. We can't wait until 1972 o look at the global environ-- (2) Secondly, we must make x_. h international agencies recs can ply the oceans. Basicax_ ent than those governing trsn s. Such agencies would never: present generation of super-- ostponed their use until mem tills. Santa Barbara will be ankers goes down. The amounz s is about 20 times that rexx jrmore, since the .release wou;s could be even more disastrx :amine all long-liv ed chemicals seen in the detective story .obal contamination by the PCB's, :e. They fortunate ly happen to :ed in DDT analysis . The PCB's ieaks on the graphs . What were unknown insecticide? Were :iound? Were they c new pol:xng work here and in Sweden, --real contaminants which are lucky to find the PCB's. Might xn some sort of international _ when the United Rations be- rxment. international treaties or es=uulating the types of cargoes _ly, such regulati 0ns are no snsport of explosi /es over rr have allowed co istruction xtankers, or at ths least would xiiods were available to prevent c like nothing if one of these :r.t of oil in one o f these super.xeased at Santa Ba rbara. nld occur at one ime, the urous . DSW 282040 STLCOPCB4063368 9 Even more frightening, however. s being built for transporting---------------------- liquid chemical s. These s can carry millions of pounds:^--------------------------- of such chemica Is as ic acid, phenol, and aniline, As there are no laws t bulk transport of biological -- poisons, these tankers also be used for carrying pest;-- :icides or herbic ides. the chain of events last year_--------- following the 1 oss of one f insecticides on the Rhine Rl------ ------------------ .ver. A trail of dead fish ed almost 100 miles from Germs:__ :ny into the Neth erlands. er the catastrophe if a tanker ___ goes down that is loaded erbicides or pesticides. The - statistics are a gainst us. three years before the tanker Torrey Canyon s ank in the ti Channel, tankers were involve........................... red in an average of two nts per week, and one in ten r-------- ^suited in oil a pillage. have to wait for a Texas City ~... disaster before we begin ulate international shipments c_ ............................. of oil and such poisonous als as herbicides and per uiciae^-- .as? The oceans are too and our chemical technology toe ........... o powerful to al low un- ted transport of such powerful------------------------------ poisons. jadies and gentlemen, there are --......... e almost no laws , other lose of economic expediency, gc------------- ----------- overning the typ es of transported on the oceans. Zf we don't inst itute such low can we expect anything les -------------- s than the death of the ? (3) The third part of this proc^u = 3 to technology which does not. ^ ^.............. nts. This must come from both 3 industry. Both basic and apr. zzr gram is support of research result in long- lived conthe universitie s and r>lied research a re needed. DSW 282041 STLCOPCB4063369 10 'nfortunately, the universitiz: It situation as regards basic ocal minority concerned abouc ogy. They have transposed tzz i research. They scream "no zz. .... h--all research ends up as u_____ ment." On the other side is 'e have technological problems--- rease appropriations for appt-----'his philosophy will get us r.c---- neuis-tottfc--q_ .new_ technologies ... : the alternatives to DDT and . available? One of the most z--of chemicals known as juvent.--. hormones which prevent the grzz: .iscovery resulted from basic . into butterflies. It is the --wspaper columnists like to mai-zrzr py it is to ask "Why is the l ney on how caterpillars turn zzzz s money incredibly well-spentz r biology and embryology was b. No one said "go find an z a pesticide." No one even k. much less if they were suitat... . :h, which has provided the mos~-- . in years, simply originated zzz ; are presently Ln a very research. On t le one hand the harmful effects of zese fears to all basic and aasic research, n o applied .zimately destroy Lng the the Federal Government which ------let's cut the basic research .red research." where. Basic re search is As an example, let' s other long-lived pesticides. oromising and ex siting are _ze hormones. Th sse are -owth of noxious Insects. research on how caterpillars rsort of basic re search that tte fun of. Imagine what _,S. Government spending all zinto butterflies ". Yet This research into cato>asic or non-mis sion oriented msect hormone wh ich can be znew if there wer e such horzze as pesticides This z promising meth od of insect rrom the curiosi ty about how DSW 282042 STLCOPCB4063370 IX irs can achieve that incrediim. warty worm into a beautiful -- ilso need more basic researcri which will not contaminate --: about our emphasis and depencs :ic power. The problem of sr~ :tive waste may prove insurmo-- ' contaminate the globe. ieed more basic research into conversion, such as solar er~ .s this "pie in the sky." Prr: laterpillar story--the signitm basic research in physics, rch in the area of photochemn summary, I have pointed out _ in the oceans and I have inam :he world. We now have ample ^ the death of the oceans wii_ ;e canaries down into the mine; ion monoxide poisoning. When / knew they were in trouble am ; have also sho'*'n us their cans: lot reproducing because of DD~ iuse of PCB*s. Can we affora Die tragedies? _re transformation of a nutterf ly.. into forms of en ergy --he globe, I am extremely mance on nuclear energy mring the enormou s amounts rentable and we ma y ir- non-contaminatirg forms mrgy. If you'll pardon robably not. Again--as meant breakthrouch will memistry, and bic logy -- ms try. me danger of chemical seated that no ore is warning that, ii left result. Coal miners ms with them to warn the canaries kecled md better leave fast, nries. These are the z and North Sea birds to wait for greater DSW 282043 STLCOPCB4063371 12 an immediate solution we nees hment of an international env: :ase of long-lived chemicals m we require treaties and agencr >es which sail the seas,- finam l-term solution, we need more to alternatives to our contamz lese are not insurmountable pm iy, our chemical technology is i the globe and to have begun - Surely, knowing this, our rm jgh to prevent such an occurred _d first the immediate mronmental FDA to prevent into the environment; :ies to regulate ;he types my, as both an immediate aasic and applied research unating technology, roblems. As I have pointed : so powerful as to have rhe destruction bf the isponse can also be powermce. I DSW 282044 STLCOPCB4063372