May 12, 2008--Decline seen in coastal contamination (Washington Post)
Contamination of the nation's coastal waters is declining, the government said Monday. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said levels of the pesticide DDT and industrial contaminants such as PCBs are declining. However, the agency said oil-related materials from motor vehicles and shipping continue to enter coastal waters. The overall improvement was credited to environmental laws enacted in the 1970s. Gunnar Lauenstein, manager of the NOAA's Mussel Watch program, said: "It's interesting to note that pesticides, such as DDT, and industrial chemicals, such as PCBs, show significant decreasing trends around the nation, but similar trends were not found for trace metals."
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