On 31 Jul 2003 08:47:26 GMT, Nick Maclaren wrote:

In article ,
martin writes:
|
| http://www.chem.ox.ac.uk/mom/ddt/ddt.html
|
| "The use of DDT was banned in the United States in 1973, although it
| is still in use in some other parts of the world. The buildup of DDT
| in natural waters is a reverisble process: the EPA reported a 90%
| reduction of DDT in Lake Michigan fish by 1978 as a result of the
| ban."
|
| and
| http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,55843,00.html

If I recall correctly, it was still INCREASING in some Arctic animals
well into the 1990s. While the process is reversible, the timescale
is very long.

The problem gets worse the higher up the food chain you go. Krill
eats plankton, shrimp eats krill, fish eats shrimp, seal eats
fish, Eskimo eats seal, polar bear eats Eskimo. Guess who carries
the biggest load of chlorinated crap in their body fat?

[I may be completely confused on who eats who in the world of
krill and plankton.]

*Bacteria* can break down organochlorines, but higher animals
can't.


--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada