Summary Information
Wisconsin. Department of Natural Resources: DDT Hearings
1968-1969
- Wisconsin. Department of Natural Resources
Series 2214
2.0 c.f. (5 archives boxes)
Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Testimony and exhibits of public hearings held by DNR between December, 1968, and May, 1969, at the request of the Izaak Walton League and the Citizens' Natural Resource Association of Wisconsin, on the health hazards of the chemical pesticide DDT. Witnesses questioned by Victor J. Yanneconne, counsel for the Environmental Defense Fund, included Gaylord Nelson, representatives of the National Agricultural Chemical Association, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and many members of the University of Wisconsin faculty.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-ser02214 ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
In 1968 the Citizens' Natural Resource Association of Wisconsin and the Izaak Walton League requested the assistance of the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) in an attempt to stop the City of Milwaukee from spraying elm trees with the chemical pesticide DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloro-ethane). Victor J. Yanneconne, legal counsel for the EDF, used a Section 227.06 of the Wisconsin statutes to gain a public hearing before the Department of Natural Resources, which was required to make a declaratory ruling on the potential health hazards of the pesticide. Yanneconne used the quasi-judicial forum much like a trial, cross-examining witnesses at length, calling “star witnesses” from both the national and international medical and scientific community, and gaining a significant amount of media exposure at the state and national level. In particular, Senator Gaylord Nelson's testimony resulted in headline news in many newspapers, including a supportive editorial in the New York Times. These public hearings prompted several other state governments to take action against the pesticide's use. Victor J. Yanneconne's success in rallying public opinion also led to a marked growth and expansion of the Environmental Defense Fund. In hindsight, many scholars consider the hearings an important episode in both environmental history and law, since before 1970 legal suits involving environmental issues were relatively rare.
Thomas R. Dunlop's, “DDT on Trial: The Wisconsin Hearing, 1968-1969,” appears in the Wisconsin Magazine of History (Vol. 62: No. 1, pp. 2-24).
Arrangement of the Materials
Series 2214 is arranged into four parts: Master Index, Volumes, Exhibits, and DDT Related Materials.
Scope and Content Note
The MASTER INDEX, prepared by the DNR and located in box one, lists the names of individuals who testified at the hearings between December 2, 1968 and May 21, 1969. The index also describes and notes the location of each exhibit submitted during the hearings.
The VOLUMES consist of witness testimony. They were numbered one volume for each day of testimony but the total span of the volumes are paginated in one sequence 1-2241. Both volume and page numbers have been maintained in the container list. The transcripts are unique for state government hearings, due largely to Yanneconne's rigorous questioning. For example, the attorney cross-examined Louis A. McLean, a representative of the Velsicol Chemical Corporation, for more than a day and a half.
The EXHIBITS are arranged numerically, in the order they were presented at the hearing. A large percentage of the exhibits are scientic reports from journals and monographs. They provide essential context to the individuals' statements. There is a large amount of material relating to environmental conditions in Wisconsin, much of it submitted by UW faculty members. The exhibits include photocopied maps, illustrations and photographs related to pesticide use in the state.
DDT RELATED MATERIALS include materials that the DNR requested from other states in 1970. These items were apparently used by the Department of Natural Resources in making its ruling as to the safety of the pesticide.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Processed by Andrew Hamilton and Matt Blessing, June 1991.
Container list
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Box
1
Folder
1
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Master Index
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Volumes
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Box
1
Folder
2-11
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1-10, 2 December 1968 - 14 January 1969, pages 1-1140
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Box
2
Folder
1-14
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11-24, 15 January - 8 May 1969, pages 1141-2241
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Box
3
Folder
1-6
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25-30, 12 May - 21 May 1969, pages 2242-2811
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Exhibits
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Box
3
Folder
7-10
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1-112
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Box
4
Folder
1-6
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113-184
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Box
5
Folder
1
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185-204
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Other DDT Related Materials
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Box
5
Folder
2
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Statement by Montrose Chemical Corporation
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Box
5
Folder
3-4
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Selected statements from State of Washington DDT hearings, October, 1969
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Box
5
Folder
5-6
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Pesticides in milk, California Department of Agriculture, 1965
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