6 
Air transport is a major mechanism for dispersing chlorinated hydro- 
carbons which have been detected in airborne particulate matter, 
rainwater,’ and Antarctic snow.® Chlorinated hydrocarbons tend to 
remain in soils rather than be leached into drainage waters. After 20 
“years, 35 to 50 percent of the DDT used for subterranean termite 
control in Mississippi was still present and there was no significant 
migration to adjacent soil despite intensive rainfall.* Vaporization most 
likely accounts for the considerable loss that did occur. Atmospheric 
transport and subsequent fallout into the sea can explain the observed 
distribution and concentrations of both DDT and PCB compounds in 
the marine environment. 
At issue is the question whether persistent waste products derived 
from industrial or agricultural uses are compatible with the long-term 
technological development of our planet. Once in the environment, 
chlorinated hydrocarbons move through food chains, becoming pro- 
gressively more concentrated in higher order organisms. Numerous 
examples of this effect have been reported. In 1969, fish taken from 
the Pacific Ocean were seized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administra- 
tion and condemned as unfit for consumption. Jack mackerel from the 
southern California coastal waters were found to contain 10 ppm (parts 
per million) of DDT compounds in their tissues (5 ppm is considered 
by FDA as the maximum permissible level). Several petrels and 
shearwaters, oceanic birds that do not approach land except to breed 
on islands, were analyzed and found to contain PCB and DDT 
(Table I). 
Perhaps the most severe effect of chlorinated hydrocarbons docu- 
mented thus far is on the reproductive processes of several species of 
marine birds. Brown pelicans, nesting on the Channel Islands and 
Coronados Islands in California, were found to contain 80 ppm of 
TABLE I.—DDT AND PCB RESIDUES IN PETRELS AND SHEARWATERS; DDT RESIDUES CONSIST OF P,P’-DDE PULS 
P,P’-DDT PLUS P,P’-DDD 
; DDT (wet PCB (wet 
Species, locality (breeding area), tissue Number weight, ppm) weight ppm) 
Fulmar, Fulmarus glacialis, California, whole birds (Alaska)__..-_____-. 3 7 bak 2.3 
Pink-footed Shearwater, Mexico, whole bird (Chile) Puffinus creatopus_. 1 3.0 4 
Sooty Shearwater (New Zealand and Chile) Puffinus griseus: 
Calitonitas Whole’ binds 22 5 29 tS Rete et) Bee aap t Fee grt | 2 11.3 11 
New Brunswick ‘fats -— 62 2)2 22s = lk ee ee Se 2 ha 3 40.9 52.6 
Siender-billed Shearwater (Australia), Puffinus tenuirostris, California, 
TH CU (it ao oo er ee eres eee 3) eee 1 32.0 2.4 
Greater Shearwater, Puffinus gravis, New Brunswick (Southern Atlantic), 
epee Re Sie mR Se SN hs tat EAN WO Cie Ene 277120. TA ER 3 70.9 104.3 
Bermuda Petrel, Pterodroma cahow (Bermuda), eggs and chicks________ 5 6.4 _. eee 
Ashy Petrel, Oceanodroma homochroa (California), whole birds________- 12 66.0 24.0 
Black Petrel, Loomelania melania (Mexico), whole birds_______-.__-__. 8 9.2 1.0 
Least Petrel, Helocyptena microsoma (Mexico), whole birds.____._.____ 3 Bly Soo 
Leach's Petrel, Oceanodroma leuchorhoa: 
(Baja California); egg fate: heen = 2 ee ee et a ee 1 953.0 351 
(New Brunswick), bedyifat.” -*___. £0) St PS) Ee pede 3 164.0 192 
Wilson's Petrel, Oceanites oceanicus New Brunswick (Antarctica), body 
Fe se os ae eee SET ee ed Rear ett Se ae see 3 199.0 697 
Source: Risebrough, R. W. Op cit, p. 262. 
3 Risebrough, R. W., R. J. Huggett, J. J. Griffin, and E. D. Goldberg. Pesticides: transatlantic move- 
ments in the northeast trades. Science, v. 159, 1968: 1233-1236. 
4 Tarrant, K. R. and J. O’G. Tatton. Organochlorine pesticides in rainwater in the British Isles. Nature, 
v. 219, 1968: 725-727. 
5 Peterle, T. J. DDT in Antarctic snow. Nature, v. 224, 1969: 620. 
6 Smith, V. K. Pesticides in soil: long-term movement of DDT appliedfto soil for termite control. 
Pesticides Monitoring J., v. 2, 1968: 55-57. : 
