DDT: Should DDT be banned?

Essay by caramel2010University, Bachelor'sA, January 2006

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Dichloro-Diphenyl-Trichloroethane is one of the most controversial chemicals known to man, it was first produced in 1874, and its insecticidal properties were described by Paul Muller in the late 1930s. At one point in time this chemical was know for doing wonders, it was first used to protect military areas and personnel against malaria, typhus, and other vector-borne diseases. Many would say that Rachel Carson sparked the controversial debate over DDT, about eight years after Silent Spring was published there was a ban of the pesticide DDT, and Carson was responsible for exposing the dangers of the pesticide DDT. DDT was first banned in the United States in 1972 because of its persistence in the environment and accumulation in the food chain. Dichlor-Diphenyl-Trichloroethane (DDT) should not be been banned in every country; DDT has helped countries control diseases such as malaria and typhus where it is needed the most.

DDT helps control the disease malaria in South Africa.

Malaria in Italian is known as "bad air"; formerly called ague or marsh fever in English is an infectious disease which in humans causes about 350-500 million infections and approximately 1.3 million deaths annually, mainly in the tropics. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 85% of these fatalities. Africa is in desperate need of DDT in order to control malaria; DDT was developed as the first of the modern insecticides during World War II. It was initially used with great effect to combat mosquitoes spreading malaria. It was banned for use in many countries in the 1970s due to its negative environmental impact. Although DDT has a negative impact on the environment it can save the lives of many individuals in Africa.

The negative environmental impacts that DDT has on our environment are descriped by Carson in Silent Sprin: the following are some of...