Toxic ocean dumps off Southern California

During the 20th century, a large amount of chemical waste was dumped into the Pacific Ocean within the Southern California Bight off the West Coast of the United States. Dumped materials include DDT, WW II munitions, radioactive waste, PCBs, petroleum products, and sulfuric acid.

The chemical waste was dumped in at least 14 offshore locations, ranging from the Channel Islands in the north, to the shores off Ensenada, Mexico, in the south.

The Environmental Protection Agency has designated one of the offshore sites as a subunit of the Montrose Chemical Superfund site. After studying the offshore site, the EPA is planning is to leave the waste in place, and cover it with a layer of sediment.

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