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gewg_ writes:

Alternet reports:

In tiny St. Louis, Michigan, robins are falling from the sky, convulsing, and dying in yards and on the pavement. And university researchers' evidence points to a long shuttered chemical plant nearby as the cause.

On the banks of the Pine River in rural mid-Michigan, the Velsicol Chemical plant manufactured an assortment of chemicals, including dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethan e (DDT), a now banned insecticide, and polybrominated biphenyl (PBB), a fire retardant with known health risks. DDT is linked to brain-development abnormalities in the womb and low birth weights. PBB is known known to cause immunotoxicity and disorders related to the central nervous system in mice and is a possible carcinogen.

Residents say that while it's been a notable number, there's no telling how many birds are dying in such a manner. They say that many birds have fallen in yards to which they have no access and that many birds may have been dragged off and perhaps consumed by wildlife or dogs.

Volunteers in one St. Louis neighborhood gathered 29 dead songbirds, including 22 robins last year, and brought them to Michigan State University for an analysis, and what researchers there found was alarming. The forensic reports indicate that brain and liver abnormalities were found in 12 of the birds, and the brains of the birds had high amounts of DDT and its breakdown compounds DDD and DDE.

The Detroit Free Press reports that the mean level of DDT and its component parts was 552 parts per million. The samples taken from the dead American robins ranged from 155 parts per million to 1043 parts per million. Just 30 parts per million of DDT is known to be fatal to many bird species. It's believed that the birds died after eating contaminated worms and insects that were poisoned by the local soil.

Closed in 1977, the local residents have been seeing consequences of the Velsicol plant for decades. It has been estimated cleanup costs will reach $500 million, only $20 million of that will have been paid for by the company.