Much later, side effects of biological magnification started showing up far from the areas where DDT was applied. Most devastated were species at the top of food chains, including bald eagles, brown pelicans, ospreys, and peregrine falcons (above). These predators fell prey to a product of DDT break- down that interferes with physiological processes. The birds produced eggs with thin, brittle shells-and many of the chick embryos didn't survive to hatching time. Some species, including the peregrine falcon, were facing extinction. DDT now has been banned in the United States for decades, except for limited applications where public health is endangered. Populations of peregrine falcons and other birds have begun to recover Even today, however, some birds lay thin-shelled eggs. They pick up DDT at their winter ranges in Latin America, where DDT is still widely used. As recently as 1990, the California State Department of Health closed a fishery off Los Angeles because DDT from industrial waste discharges that ended 25 years before were still contaminating that ecosystem.