25,000 Barrels Of Toxic Waste Discovered Off Southern California Coast

Marine scientists say they have discovered what is believed to be over 25,000 barrels of DDT barrels dumped off the Southern California coast near Catalina Island, reports the Associated Press.

Researchers at the University of California San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography captured high-resolution images of the 27,345 "barrel-like" objects.

A team of 31 scientists, engineers, and crew conducted 24-hour operations on the Sally Ride research vessel and two autonomous underwater vehicles.

Their research consisted of over 36,000 acres of the seafloor between Santa Catalina Island and the Los Angeles coast which is a region that was previously found to contain high levels of the toxic chemical.

The images were captured by underwater drones using sonar technology. The barrels were 3,000 feet below the surface.

They also found historical shipping logs that showed industrial companies in Southern California used the region as a dumping ground until 1972, the year that the Ocean Dumping Act was put into place.

The effects of the DDT dumping on marine life and humans is still unknown, according to Scripps chemical oceanographer and professor of geosciences Lihini Aluwihare.

"These results also raise questions about the continued exposure and potential impacts on marine mammal health, especially in light of how DDT has been shown to have multi-generational impacts in humans," Aluwihare told AP News.

Photo: Getty Images