Before PFAS and red dye 3, banning DDT might have been one of the most impactful regulatory successes in American history. Like so many legacy chemical compounds, DDT offered immediate, almost miraculous results, albeit with unanticipated and dangerous consequences. In the three decades DDT was used in the US, it dramatically lowered rates of malaria, increased crop yields, and likely contributed to thousands of cancer diagnoses.

The History of DDT

DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane) was one of the first synthetic insecticides used at industrial and commercial scale. Developed in the 1940s, it radically reduced illnesses and deaths caused by insect-borne diseases among US military and civilian populations. DDT applications in high-risk environments reduced cases of malaria, typhus, and other diseases. 

It was used to protect crops and livestock, sprayed in parks and gardens, and even at homes and schools to control insect populations. It was incredibly common in the US and abroad; more than 1.5 million tons were used worldwide between the 1940s and 1970s, and most of that total was used before the 1960s. 

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DDT: Chemical, Carcinogen, Health Risk

Despite DDT’s pesticide pedigree, the application of DDT in residential areas declined in the 1950s. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) introduced several regulatory actions in the late 1950s as studies linked DDT to health risks and environmental damage. 

In 1972, the newly formed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) banned DDT because of its negative environmental effects and threat to human health. 

Today, DDT is categorized as a probable human carcinogen. 

Does DDT Cause Cancer?

There is considerable evidence indicating a strong link between DDT and cancer in humans, particularly those who were exposed to it directly during its use and indirectly through the environment. DDT is persistent in the environment and found in high concentrations in areas where it was used historically, such as orchards, fields, and livestock pens. 

DDT and Breast Cancer

Studies conducted in the 2010s found that DDT cancer risks are multigenerational. Women whose mothers had elevated DDT in their blood had nearly quadruple the breast cancer risk by age 52 due to DDT exposure in Utero. 

The DDT Ban Isn’t Universal

While most countries agreed to ban or restrict persistent organic pollutants (POPs), including DDT, in 1996, the chemical is still allowed in Africa. Malaria is still a major threat to human health in many parts of the continent, and experts believe the benefits of DDT outweigh the cancer risk. DDT is one of 12 pesticides the World Health Organization allows to combat malaria, and other countries have varying degrees of DDT restrictions that allow its use in certain scenarios. 

The Tragic, Lasting Legacy of DDT

The miracle pesticide’s health and environmental consequences were almost immediately apparent, though it still took nearly three decades to implement a sweeping DDT ban. That’s a lesson for individuals and advocates pushing to ban or restrict the use of PFAS, food dyes, and other questionable chemicals. It’s an uphill battle, and sometimes science and common sense don’t intersect until they’re forced to collide through popular opinion.

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