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Thousands of barrels of suspected toxic DDT found dumped in California ocean

Taboma

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same here in HB bolsa chica last year.... daughter got it on her foot.... was a nightmare to get off.... stained her foot for weeks. I thought maybe it was drilling right there close to shore.... first time I've seen it.

I used to get beach tar on my feet back in the early 50's. I think it's far less prevalent today, since all the offshore pumping has reduced the pressure. I recall a lot of beach tar as a kid.
 

EmpirE231

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I used to get beach tar on my feet back in the early 50's. I think it's far less prevalent today, since all the offshore pumping has reduced the pressure. I recall a lot of beach tar as a kid.

Interesting to know that.... never knew it was natural occurrence? never noticed it in Newport.
 

Sleek-Jet

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At 3000 feet the pressure is immense. The stuff leaked out years ago. About 1300 psi.
You're right. So either all of the DDT leaked out on the way down (allowing sea water to enter the barrel) or the barrels crushed on their way down. Either way, it is doubtful that the chemicals are still inside the containers.
 

BoatCop

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I wonder why they haven't made widespread reports of all the shit that's on, and around, San Clemente Island. There has to be millions of lbs of spent and unexploded ordinance in that area. It's been used as a target since the 1930s.
 

Taboma

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Interesting to know that.... never knew it was natural occurrence? never noticed it in Newport.
I recall it occasionally at Newport in the 60's, but it grew continually worse as you went north.
 

BoatCop

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It was actually the Oil Industry that plugged the natural seeps along the California coast. Part of the deal for off-shore drilling. Once the rigs went up, the tar and oil pollution along the beaches was drastically reduced.
 

Gonefishin5555

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done tons of beach camping all up and down the coast and we always carry a bottle of baby oil in the RV. You can see some natural seepage right on the beach at Carpinteria and hike a little south and there is more on the bluffs area.
 

Gonefishin5555

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As a general reply I would be certain that everything leaked out of those drum within a few years. I suppose they should attempt to verify this and test the DDT concentrations in the area but to actually do any real clean up in this area in 3000 ft of water is a total waste of $$.
 

Taboma

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These must be some amazing drums that are sitting at 3,000' and haven't ruptured or been crushed like an aluminum can. Since a sub can maybe get to 800', without suffering structural hull failure, they should seriously re-think maybe just using oil drums welded together. :rolleyes:
 

Mandelon

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The cans are likely full of sludge. Not a liquid. If they have an axe hole chopped into them like the article showed wouldn't the pressure be equal inside and out? Not likely to crush under pressure. If they only have one axe hole, then water would not likely be flowing through the barrels.

I would think that the barrels are mostly still full of the sludge. Not a ton of current at the bottom of the sea.

After reading it seems like just burying them down there may be the best bet. By bury, I mean cover them with several feet of mud or sand. Simply pulling them up would seem like a far worse idea.

I picture them like a can of cat food. Pop a hole in the top and drop it into your pool. Some of it will leak out but you will still have a soggy can of cat food even after a long time of sitting there.
 

lbhsbz

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These must be some amazing drums that are sitting at 3,000' and haven't ruptured or been crushed like an aluminum can. Since a sub can maybe get to 800', without suffering structural hull failure, they should seriously re-think maybe just using oil drums welded together. :rolleyes:
If you fill a sub full of DDT it could go down to 3000ft too.
 

HALLETT BOY

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This just boggles my mind . I've had and auto repair shop for close to 45 years , every year the Environmental Health dept visits my business and crawls up every orifice of my shop and self , and then hands me a list of stupid minuscule infractions and a $900 fee ! And then I read about this , or a oil pipe line in Santa Barbara that bursts and spills thousands of gallon of oil into the ocean or arroyo ...
 

Sleek-Jet

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The cans are likely full of sludge. Not a liquid. If they have an axe hole chopped into them like the article showed wouldn't the pressure be equal inside and out? Not likely to crush under pressure. If they only have one axe hole, then water would not likely be flowing through the barrels.

I would think that the barrels are mostly still full of the sludge. Not a ton of current at the bottom of the sea.

After reading it seems like just burying them down there may be the best bet. By bury, I mean cover them with several feet of mud or sand. Simply pulling them up would seem like a far worse idea.

I picture them like a can of cat food. Pop a hole in the top and drop it into your pool. Some of it will leak out but you will still have a soggy can of cat food even after a long time of sitting there.

Axe hole... LOL...
 

Taboma

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If you fill a sub full of DDT it could go down to 3000ft too.

I suppose you're right, I was thinking of the drum lid bands, but that same 1335 psi hydrostatic pressure would be applied equally to all sides, including the lid held on by a band. However, if the barrel wasn't 100% filled, you'd expect some drum deformation. I don't have any idea if they were specialized drums, or just standard industry variety. That one in the pic looked to be in good shape.
 

HubbaHubbaLife

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the depth between catalina and LA is 3000+ ft? sheesh!
Real deep here.... a few years back Virgin/ Branson was test launching a deep sea exploration vessel but the canopy cracked and it was a solid chunk of glass/ crystal of some type to withstand pressures. I heard they struggled getting it replaced and I haven't seen the launch vessel or sub since. I'm sure any locals of Newport Harbor will remember the large catamaran that launched the sub .... it was harbored here for quite some time. Branson wanted to get to 35K Ft in our deepest waters on the planet. Looks like its dead for now.....

 

HubbaHubbaLife

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had to whip out the ol fathoms to feet calculator for that one... biggest number i saw was 493 fathoms which is just shy of 3000 ft. creepy how much small vessel travel there is in that area and how deep it is... wonder what else is down there.
All I know is I pee quick and swim back onto the ladder fast... seen a couple dead whales and great whites feeding over the years boating. When those dang great white videos where they come crashing up on the surface appeared online it kinda stuck with me. Gone are my days floating on my back out there taking my sweet time.
 

HubbaHubbaLife

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We had the same thing happen to us just last year when we took a walk along the shoreline in Huntington Beach. I had so much tar on my feet it took nearly an hour to get the stuff off. To make matters worse I ruined a good pair of tennis shoes and the smell in the car during the drive home was horrendous.

I don't know what the root cause of all the tar on the shore was but thought it had to do with all the oil tankers anchored off shore last summer...

HB not too long back fellas......
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was thatguy

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That’s nothing.
Doing hazmat assessment, investigation, and remediation for DoD as a civilian I’ve seen WWII sites that are straight out of “andromeda strain”.

Our military used to be real big on burying shit. Like millions of drums in one place.
WWII fuel depots are literal dead zones in some places.
We processed over 30,000 drums at a classified site in Alaska over a 2 summer period and didn’t even put a dent in the estimated 2.3 million drums buried there...at a cost of around $50 million...but you didn’t hear that from me.

The ocean is better. Dilution and dispersion are great long term cures.
The ocean can fix itself given a chance.
 

HubbaHubbaLife

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I wonder why they haven't made widespread reports of all the shit that's on, and around, San Clemente Island. There has to be millions of lbs of spent and unexploded ordinance in that area. It's been used as a target since the 1930s.
Seems like a reliable source told me recently that our military still test fires on that island. I've got friends who go deep sea fishing out that way but never hear anything about that from them.
 

YeahYeah01

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That’s nothing.
Doing hazmat assessment, investigation, and remediation for DoD as a civilian I’ve seen WWII sites that are straight out of “andromeda strain”.

Our military used to be real big on burying shit. Like millions of drums in one place.
WWII fuel depots are literal dead zones in some places.
We processed over 30,000 drums at a classified site in Alaska over a 2 summer period and didn’t even put a dent in the estimated 2.3 million drums buried there...at a cost of around $50 million...but you didn’t hear that from me.

The ocean is better. Dilution and dispersion are great long term cures.
The ocean can fix itself given a chance.
Yup. A ran a couple Dod contracts for haz waste removal throughout CA and NV. Theres some crazy shit out there.
 
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