EPS Colloquium – David Valentine, University of California Santa Barbara

The DDT Story We Never Finished

Once considered a wonder pesticide, DDT fell out of favor following the realization of its ecological effects, as popularized by Rachel Carson in her book, Silent Spring. During the heyday of DDT use, the nation’s largest manufacturing facility was located in Los Angeles, CA. In this talk I will discuss the transport, fate and impacts of DDT waste streams that originated from industrial synthesis at this location, including the rediscovery of deep ocean DDT waste disposal, and associated impacts to the deep coastal ocean environment. I will also discuss interactions with policy makers, the shifting of scientific messaging as this issue morphed from ‘barrels of DDT waste’ to ‘barrels of radioactive waste amidst a DDT-laden seabed’, and the forthcoming documentary from the LA Times (https://www.outofplainsight.com/) that chronicles this saga.

To be added to the EPS colloquium mailing list, please contact Caroline Carr at carolinecarr@fas.harvard.edu.

David Valentine is a Distinguished Professor at UC Santa Barbara where he holds the Norris Presidential Chair in Earth Science. His research interests include microbial and geochemical processes, particularly those that relate to the ocean or human activity. He presently serves as the founding director of UCSB’s marine science major, as vice chair of UCSB’s Academic Senate, and on the leadership team for a new NSF-supported biofoundry known as Ex-FAB. Valentine is fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Academy of Microbiology and the American Geophysical Union, among other honors.