Ddt and Its Effects
DDT Use for Malarial Control
Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane otherwise known as DDT was used worldwide for agricultural and public health purposes from the 1940s until the 1970s, when concern rose for its toxic effects on us humans and wildlife, its environmental persistence and its levels in the food supply led to restrictions and prohibitions on its use. Today DDT is now only used for vector control mainly in Africa and Asia. DDT is a potent insecticide used for Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS), being sprayed inside people’s homes and in buildings for malarial control. IRS with DDT being used as its main insecticide has exposed humans to high levels of DDT and this high exposure has been linked to serious health affects for humans, these health affects even include some cancers. Due to DDT’s toxic effects not only on our environment but on humans themselves, DDT should be banned for use against malarial control because of the high levels humans are now exposed to causing great health risks.
Since the 1940s when DDT was first introduced, humans all around the world have been heavily exposed to DDT but levels were then greatly reduced once restrictions were place in the 1970s making human exposure to the insecticide lower. However since DDT is still being used for malarial control in some countries, most humans are still extremely exposed and are still at
great health risks. If we could see that DDT was so toxic in the earlier stages and needed to have restrictions on its use, why is DDT still allowed to be used inside somebodies home? If DDT is so toxic that its use needed restrictions for obvious environmental and health reasons, then use of this insecticide should no longer persist anywhere in the world.
It is an obvious fact that DDT is still being used as the main insecticide for IRS because of its good track record in controlling malaria, however introducing a toxic chemical into our environment and causing health problems for humans only makes another
Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane otherwise known as DDT was used worldwide for agricultural and public health purposes from the 1940s until the 1970s, when concern rose for its toxic effects on us humans and wildlife, its environmental persistence and its levels in the food supply led to restrictions and prohibitions on its use. Today DDT is now only used for vector control mainly in Africa and Asia. DDT is a potent insecticide used for Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS), being sprayed inside people’s homes and in buildings for malarial control. IRS with DDT being used as its main insecticide has exposed humans to high levels of DDT and this high exposure has been linked to serious health affects for humans, these health affects even include some cancers. Due to DDT’s toxic effects not only on our environment but on humans themselves, DDT should be banned for use against malarial control because of the high levels humans are now exposed to causing great health risks.
Since the 1940s when DDT was first introduced, humans all around the world have been heavily exposed to DDT but levels were then greatly reduced once restrictions were place in the 1970s making human exposure to the insecticide lower. However since DDT is still being used for malarial control in some countries, most humans are still extremely exposed and are still at
great health risks. If we could see that DDT was so toxic in the earlier stages and needed to have restrictions on its use, why is DDT still allowed to be used inside somebodies home? If DDT is so toxic that its use needed restrictions for obvious environmental and health reasons, then use of this insecticide should no longer persist anywhere in the world.
It is an obvious fact that DDT is still being used as the main insecticide for IRS because of its good track record in controlling malaria, however introducing a toxic chemical into our environment and causing health problems for humans only makes another