Did they used to spray kids with DDT?
Is it safe? DDT was sprayed in America in the 1950’s as children played in the spray, and up to 80,000 tons a year were sprayed on American crops. There is some research suggesting that it could lead to premature births, but humans are far better off exposed to DDT than exposed to malaria.
Is DDT toxic to humans?
Human health effects from DDT at low environmental doses are unknown. Following exposure to high doses, human symptoms can include vomiting, tremors or shakiness, and seizures. DDT is considered a possible human carcinogen.
What is DDT used for?
DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane) was developed as the first of the modern synthetic insecticides in the 1940s. It was initially used with great effect to combat malaria, typhus, and the other insect-borne human diseases among both military and civilian populations.
How was DDT banned?
The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, which took effect in 2004, put a global ban on several persistent organic pollutants, and restricted DDT use to vector control. The Convention was ratified by more than 170 countries.
What year did they ban DDT?
1972
The United States banned the use of DDT in 1972. Some countries outside the United States still use DDT to control of mosquitoes that spread malaria.
What diseases can DDT cause?
Liver cancer occurred in lab mice that were fed large amounts of DDT. Some studies in humans linked DDT levels in the body with breast cancer, but other studies have not made this link. Other studies in humans have linked exposure to DDT/DDE with having lymphoma, leukemia, and pancreatic cancer.
Is DDT good or bad?
The most serious evidence of DDT’s harm to humans are a few studies showing that higher levels of DDE (the form DDT takes when it metabolizes) in a mother’s blood is associated with premature birth and shorter duration of breast-feeding. But other studies have found no such associations.
What countries still use DDT?
Production, use, and management DDT is currently being produced in three countries: India, China, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK; North Korea) (Table 1). By far the largest amounts are produced in India for the purpose of disease vector control.