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DDT is a chemical used as a pesticide.

DDT was first used in the second half of World War 2 to kill insects that spread diseases like malaria and typhus. After the war it was sold and used as a pesticide in homes and in agriculture. The World Health Organization employed DDT in its anti-malaria programs in 1955.

The cumulative effects of DDT on living organisms went unnoticed for a long time, causing damage to a wide range of animals, such as birds (thinner egg shells) and humans (causing cancer). The 1962 book Silent Spring by Rachel Carson referenced indiscriminate chemical use as ultimately catastrophic for the environment.

DDT was eventually banned in the US (for most uses) in 1972. It is still used in some developing countries.

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11y ago
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10y ago

That it affects egg formation, is water-insoluble, kills beneficial insects, and settles into body tissues and the environment are reasons why DDT is banned for agriculturally-related use in the United States of America since 1972.

Specifically, DDT affects the role of calcium carbonate in proper avian egg formation. It causes egg shells to be too thin to withstand environmental stress and makes chicks hatch prematurely. It does not just kill nuisance insects such as malaria- and sleeping sickness-carrying mosquitoes and tsetse flies. It also harms beneficial insects such as honeybees. Additionally, it will break down in fatty and oily liquids but refrains from doing so in water. Serious consequences therefore will include the pesticide's presence in animal body fat and in soils and water.

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10y ago

That the health of the environment, the public and wildlife was being compromised is the reason for DDT beingbanned in the United States of Americ in 1972.

Specifically, lawyers and scientists formed the Environmental Defense Fund in 1967 with the express intent of getting DDT banned. The U.S. District Court of Appeals required the Environmental Protection Agency to start de-registering DDT in 1971. The result was the banning of DDT in agricultural activities but the reluctant case-by-case sanctioning of its effectiveness when public health benefits from its use.

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12y ago

I caused the shell of bird egg's to weaken and be crushed while the mother bird were hatching effecting the American bald eagle population

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9y ago

Didn't break down fast enough, it's still allowed for malaria areas

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14y ago

The EPA has established it lasts too long in the environment.

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16y ago

Brett Lanier says in 1972

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13y ago

Too persistent in the environment.

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Q: Why was the use of ddt banned?
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