What follows are excerpts from the Examiner's Report of the Wisconsin hearings, held in 1968-1969, on the question of whether or not DDT is a highly toxic, persistent chemical, whose existence constitutes "pollution" as defined by state statute. How the hearing came about, and what was its aftermath, is recounted in: Frank Graham Jr., 1970, "Since Silent Spring" (Houghton-Mifflin, Boston MA); and, Thomas R. Dunlap, 1981, "DDT -- Scientists, citizens, and public policy" (Princeton U. Press, Princeton NJ).
The excerpts define the issues under consideration; show who and what organizations were involving themselves in the matter; and present the opinion and the ruling. What is omitted is the examiner's summary of the evidence, although a table of contents of that material in included below.
The page numbers and general formatting have been retained from the original, but the line lengths have been changed (lengthened).
Surprisingly, considering its historical significance, this is a rare document in Wisconsin; my own copy is a copy of a discard from the library of the University of Oregon (Eugene). However, the Milwaukee Public Library and the Marquette University Law Library have copies, as does (presumably) the Wisconsin DNR. A transcript of the hearings is to be found in the UW Madison Memorial Library (SB952.D2 W5 GZMA)
BEFORE THE
STATE OF WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES
Petition of Citizens Natural Resources
)
Association, Inc. and Wisconsin Division,
)
Izaak Walton League of America, Inc. for
)
3-DR-1
a Declaratory Ruling on Use of Dichloro-
)
Diphenyl-Trichloro-Ethane, Commonly Known
)
as DDT, in the State of Wisconsin
)
EXAMINER'S SUMMARY OF EVIDENCE
AND
PROPOSED RULING
On October 28, 1968, the Citizens Natural Resources Association, Inc. by Frederick L. Ott, Wauwatosa,
Wisconsin, and on November 1, 1968, the Izaak Wa1ton League of America, Inc. , Wisconsin Division,
by J. Michael Borden, Elm Grove, Wisconsin, filed petitions with the Department of Natural Resources requesting a declaratory ruling in
respect to the use of Dichloro-Diphenyl-Trichloro-Ethane, commonly known as DDT, in
the State of Wisconsin.
The Department issued its Notice of Hearing on November 5, 1968 and held hearing on the matter December 2, 1968 and on days there-after at Madison, Wisconsin, before Examiner Maurice H. Van Susteren.
Appearances
PETITIONERS:
CITIZENS NATURAL RESOURCES ASSOCIATION
WISCONSIN DIVISION IZAAK WALTON LEAGUE OF AMERICA
MICHIGAN AUDUBON SOCIETY, INC.
by
Paul J. Burbach, Attorney
710 North Plankinton Avenue
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53203
and
Victor J. Yannacone, Jr. , Attorney, of Counsel
P. 0. Box 109- 39 Baker Street
Patchogue, New York 11772
-1-
IN SUPPORT OF THE PETITION:
INSTITUTE OF MARINE RESOURCES
University of California
Berkeley, California
by
Robert W. Risebrough, PhD, Specialist
LEWIS T. MITTNESS, State Assemblyman
lst District, Rock County
730 North Ringold Street
Janesville, Wisconsin 53545
NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY, INC.
1130 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York 10028
by
Edward M. Brigham, III, Regional Representative
(Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, Northern Illinois)
Box 125,
Atlas, Michigan 48411
(Also President, Michigan Audubon Society, Inc.)
CHARLES F. WURSTER, JR. , PhD
Assistant Professor, Biology Department
State University of New York
Stony Brook, New York 11790
LAWRENCE G. MONTHEY, Asst. Professor, University of Wisconsin
Extension Specialist, Travel-Recreation Industry
Home Address Route I, Verona, Wisconsin 53593
(As Intervenor in Support)
WISCONSIN RESOURCE CONSERVATION COUNCIL
by
Hugh H. Iltis, PhD, Professor of Botany
Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
IN OPPOSITION:
BUCKLEY TREE SERVICE and WISCONSIN ARBORIST ASSOCIATION
by
Patrick Buck1ey
608 East Broadway
Waukesha, Wisconsin 53186
EGELHOFF TREE SERVICE, INC.
by
Theodore C. Egelhoff, Secretary
P. 0. Box 31
Thiensville, Wisconsin 53092
INDUSTRY TASK FORCE FOR DDT of the
NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL CHEMICALS ASSOCIATION
1155 Fifteenth Street, N.W.,
Washington, D. C.
by
Louis A. McLean, Attorney and Representative
525 Happ Road
Northfield, Illinois 60093
and by
-2-
Willard S. Stafford
204 S. Hamilton Street
Madison, Wisconsin
and by
Fredrik S. Waiss
Rm. 2525, 650 California Street
San Francisco, California
RUDOLPH F. LANGE
115 Vine Street
De1avan, Wisconsin 53115
CITY OF WEST ALLIS
by
John A. Cahill, Superintendent of Forestry
2406 South 76th Street
West Allis, Wisconsin 53219
(and for self)
WISCONSIN FARM BUREAU
by
William Kasakaitas, Legislative Counsel
801 West Badger Road
Madison, Wisconsin 53711
ROLLINS, INC.
by
Donald R. McCallum, Attorney
111 South Fairchild Street
Madison, Wisconsin 53703
AS INTERESTS MAY APPEAR
JOHN BRIAN DENNIS, Student
2667 Milwaukee Street
Madison, Wisconsin 53704
DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES
Division of Environmental Protection
by
Edward D. Main, Attorney, and
Mark W. Johnson, Attorney
55B Hill Farms State Office Building
P. 0. Box 450
Madison, Wisconsin 53701
JAMES c. DEVITT, Senator-Elect
5151 Root River Parkway
Greenfield, Wisconsin 53228
E. H. FISCHER, PhD, Professor, and
Coordinator of Pesticide Use Education
University of Wisconsin
237 Russell Lab.
Madison, Wisconsin 53706
-3-
ILLINOIS WATER POLLUTION AND WATER RESOURCES COMMISSION
by
Carl L. Klein, State Representative, Chairman
6428 South Francisco Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60629
LEAGUE OF WISCONSIN MUNICIPALITIES
by
Ed Johnson, Executive Director
433 West Washington Avenue
Madison, Wisconsin 53703
ROBERT B. McCONNELL, Assistant Attorney General
Department of Justice, State Capitol
Madison, Wisconsin 53702
(Either as Public Intervenor, or as a Representative of
the Department of Justice, whichever Circuit Court of
Dane County may later determine to be proper)
GAYLORD NELSON, United States Senator
Senate Office Building
Washington, D. C. 20510
STEVEN M. SCHUR, Assistant Attorney General
5 North, Capitol Building
Madison, Wisconsin 53702
GEORGE F. SIEKER, Assistant Attorney General
48 North, Capitol Building
Madison, Wisconsin 53702
WACHTEL TREE SCIENCE AND SERVICE, INC
by
Joseph L. Wachte1, Vice-President
19435 Brookda1e Drive
Brookfie1d, Wisconsin 53228
WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
by
Arthur R. Kurtz, Administrator
Plant Industry Division
202B Hill Farms State Office Building
Madison, Wisconsin 53702
WISCONSIN RED CHERRY GROWERS, INC.
by
Frank K. U11sperger, Executive Secretary
P. 0. Box 160
Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin 54235
GAYLE L. WORF, PhD, Associate Professor of Pathology
Department of Plant Pathology
276 Russell Lab.
University of Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin 53706
and
-4-
CHARLES KOVALL, PhD, Assistant Professor
Department of Entomology
237 Russell Lab.
University of Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin 53706
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
by
George A. Robertson, Attorney
U. S. Department of Agriculture
Washington, D. C.
WORKING GROUP ON ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY,
ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH COMMITTEE OF THE
SWEDISH NATURAL SCIENCE RESEARCH COUNCIL
by
S. Goran Lofroth, DSc
Royal University of Stockholm
Radiobiology Department of the Biochemistry Institute
Box 6409, S-11382
Stockholm, Sweden
Examiner's Summary of Evidence
I . Statutes, Rules, Issues.
A. The petitioners seek a declaratory ruling under Section 227.06, Wisconsin Statutes,
which provides that any interested person may petition for a declaratory ruling with respect to the
applicability to any person, property or state of facts of any rule or statute
enforced by it. A ruling is sought declaring DDT to be a highly toxic persistent chemical,
that its use be restricted in such way that it cannot enter the biosphere and that its existence in
the biosphere constitutes pollution.
Section 144.01 (ll), Wis. Stats. , defines pollution:
"Pollution includes contaminating or rendering unclean or impure the waters of the state, or making the same
injurious to public health, harmful for commercial or recreational use, or deleterious to fish, bird, animal
or plant life. "
Section 144.30 (9), Wis. Stats. , defines environmental pollution:
"Environmental pollution means the contaminating or rendering unclean or impure the air, land or waters
of the state, or making the same injurious to public health, harmful for commercial or recreational use, or
deleterious to fish, bird, animal or plant life."
-5-
B. Rules
Under the provisions of Section 144.025 (2)(b), the Department is authorized to adopt rules setting standards of water quality, to
protect the public interest which includes the protection of the public health and welfare and the use of the waters for public and
private water supplies, the propagation of fish and aquatic life and wildlife and other uses.
In compliance with the above, the Department adopted minimum standards of water quality in Wisconsin Administrative Code section
RD 2.02 (l) (d):
"Substances in concentrations or combinations which are toxic or harmful to humans shall not be present in
amounts found to be of public health significance, nor shall substances be present in amounts, which by
bio-assay and other appropriate tests, indicate acute or chronic levels harmful to
animal, plant or aquatic life. "
C. Issues.
1. DDT in what concentrations or combinations is toxic or harmful to humans and its presence in water in what amounts
can be found to be of public health significance?
2. What amounts of DDT in water, which by bio-assay and other appropriate tests, indicates acute or chronic levels
harmful to animals, plant or aquatic life?
3. Is DDT a pollutant within the statutory definitions of "pollution" as found in Sections 144.01 (II) and 144.30 (9),
Wis. Stats.?
II. DDT- Chemical Structure
A. Chemical Structure
DDT, a chlorinated hydrocarbon, is chemically described as 1, 1, 1-trichloro-2, 2-bis (para-chlorophenyl) ethane (T-223). It
-6-
-- pages omitted at this point --
The following is a table of contents of the omitted material. The excerpt then continues at page 26.
[on p.6 (above)]
II . DDT- Chemical Structure
A. Chemical Structure
[on p.7]
B. Properties, Uses, and Tests
1. Physical Properties
[on p.9]
2. Uses
3. Toxicity
[on p.10]
4. Translocation
[on p.11]
5. Storage/Accumulation in Organisms
[on p.13]
6. Detection and Measurement
[on p.14]
III. Enzyme Induction
A. Enzymes -- Function and Body System Effects
1. Enzymes and Liver Function
[on p.16]
2. Clinical Effects
[on p.17]
3. Sub-Clinical Effects
[on p.19]
B. Environmental Effects
1. Birds
a. Sea or Waterfowl
b. Upland Birds
c. Omnivores
[on p.20]
2. Fish
[on p.21]
IV. Effect on Nerves
A. Anatomy and Physiology
[on p.23]
B. Environmental Effects
1. Fish
2. Birds
[on p.24]
3. Mammals
V. Other Effects
A. Hormone Mimicry in Quail and Rats
[on p.25]
B. DDT and Human Pathology
Opinion
Clinically observable toxic effects of DDT in humans are obtained only with extremely large dosages by sudden extreme exposure,
or of accidental origin. Clinically observable effects are evident injury, illness,
loss of body function which directly inconveniences a person at work or play. Toxicity, as the word is ordinarily
expressed, is related to dosage which in turn is related to storage.
DDT is ubiquitous. It is found in the atmosphere, soil, water
and in food in what might be considered minute amounts. The chemical property of being soluble in lipid or fat tissue results in storage
primarily in the body fat and nervous systems of all organisms in all levels of food chains.
It is therefore impossible to establish levels, tolerances or concentrations at
which DDT is toxic or harmful to human, animal or aquatic life.
The principle that DDT, being a chlorinated hydrocarbon, induces the production of non-specific detoxifying hydroxylating hepatic
enzymes is well established. The induction of the enzymes is a normal adaptive hepatic process for the detoxification of substances
and no definitive pathological effects are observed at present dosages. A high level of induced hepatic hydroxylating enzymes,
however, causes a pharmacological biochemical effect in accelerating the metabolism
of body steroids and drugs such as barbiturates and nonbarbiturate depressants.
While the exact physiological mechanisms are not known in enzyme induction, it is established by feeding studies that DDT and one or more of its metabolites will by themselves cause a thinning of eggshells in raptor, pelagic or waterfowl birds. The effect explains the existence of the phenomena in the environment but does not exclude other causative factors, namely diet, illness and other chlorinated
-26-
hydrocarbons among them being polychlorinated biphenyls. The
appearance of the phenomena, however, on two continents simultaneously, would seem to eliminate illness, diet or predator interference as
causative factors. Waterfowl and raptors on the top of water and other food chains are
suffering decline and insect/worm-eaters are affected whereas gallinaceous birds are not.
The differences in dosage reactions can also be explained by well-known order differences
in birds.
The effect of DDT in minute amounts on the extremely complex, complicated mammalian nerve system is unknown.
Huge dosages of DDT bordering on the accidental will cause gross clinically observable
neurological symptoms in humans. It is uncontroverted that DDT has an almost immediate
nerve effect on the primitive nerve systems of insects and on the less well-developed nervous systems of other
forms of life. It is also uncontroverted that nerve tissue of vertebrates and invertebrates is the same,
that DDT has a harmful effect on nerve conductance as shown by experiments on the axon of crustaceans and amphibians,
that the effects are irreversible during the duration of the experiments. Clinically observable signs of nerve
effects in humans such as tremor disappear upon reduction of dosage. That there are sub-clinical residual effects can only be postulated
on mathematical equations and principles worked out in conjunction with nerve conductance experiments on nerve axons of crustaceans and
amphibians and shown to be valid in all cases. Taking into consideration the above experiments together with the fact that DDT is used
as a rodenticide for mice and bats, the only valid permissible inference is that DDT in small dosages has a harmful residual effect on
the mammalian nervous system.
While physiological mechanism causing a reduced reproductive
-27-
success in fish and a reduced resistance to stress when dosed with fairly high levels of DDT is unknown,
the known effects themselves can only be considered harmful ones.
The record is replete with evidence of the economic benefits derived from use of DDT in the
control of pests in agriculture and in the control of mosquitoes for both comfort and prevention of
disease. Without doubt DDT has provided enormous economic benefits, but economic benefits are not an issue or part of any issue in this
case.
-28-
Ruling
DDT, including one or more of its metabolites in any concentration or in combination with other chemicals at any level, within any tolerances, or in any amounts, is harmful to humans and found to be of public health significance. No concentrations, levels, tolerances or amounts can be established. Chemical properties and characteristics of DDT enable it to be stored or accumulated in the human body and in each trophic level of various food chains, particularly the aquatic, which provides food for human consumption. Its ingestion and dosage therefore cannot be controlled and consequently its storage is uncontrolled. Minute amounts of the chemical, while not producing observable clinical effects, do have biochemical, pharmacological, and neurophysiological effects of public health significance.
No acute or chronic levels of DDT which are harmful to animal or aquatic life can be established. For the reasons above set forth a chronic level may become an acute level. Feeding tests, laboratory experiments and environmental studies establish that DDT or one or more of its analogs is harmful to raptors and waterfowl by interfering with their reproductive process and in other birds by having a direct neurophysiological effect.
Feeding tests or experiments and environmental studies establish that DDT at chronic low levels is harmful to fish by reducing their resistance to stress.
DDT and its analogs are therefore environmental pollutants within the definitions of Sections 144.01 (11) and 144.30 (9), Wisconsin Statutes by contaminating and rendering unclean and impure the air, land and waters of the state and making the same injurious to public health and deleterious to fish, bird and animal life.
Dated at Madison Wisconsin, this 21st
day of
May , 1970.
STATE OF WISCONSIN
DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES
M. H. Van Susteren, Hearing Examiner