Early warnings of chemical contamination of the Great Lakes

The growth of chemical manufacturing and use of organochlorine compounds in the 20th century has resulted in global contamination with a wide variety of toxic and persistent organochlorine residues. Probably the most significant ‘early warning’ was the publication of Silent Spring by Rachel Carson (1962). This book compiled the existing evidence of previous early warnings of the effects of organochlorine pesticides on fish and wildlife and warned particularly of the threat posed by these chemicals in relation to cancer in humans.