Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT): ubiquity, persistence, and risks.

Abstract

Due to uncontrolled use for several decades, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), probably the best known and most useful insecticide in the world, has damaged wildlife and might have negative effects on human health. This review gives a brief history of the use of DDT in various countries and presents the results of epidemiologic and experimental studies of carcinogenesis. Even though its use has been prohibited in most countries for ecologic considerations, mainly because of its negative impact on wildlife, it is still used in some developing countries for essential public health purposes, and it is still produced for export in at least three countries. Due to its stability and its capacity to accumulate in adipose tissue, it is found in human tissues, and there is now not a single living organism on the planet that does not contain DDT. The possible contribution of DDT to increasing the risks for cancers at various sites and its possible role as an endocrine disruptor deserve further investigation. Although there is convincing experimental evidence for the carcinogenicity of DDT and of its main metabolites DDE and DDD, epidemiologic studies have provided contrasting or inconclusive, although prevailingly negative, results. The presence and persistence of DDT and its metabolites worldwide are still problems of great relevance to public health. Efficient pesticides that do not have the negative properties of DDT, together with the development of alternative methods to fight malaria, should be sought with the goal of completely banning DDT.

Screening 31 endocrine-disrupting pesticides in water and surface sediment samples from Beijing Guanting reservoir

“…It is hypothesized that they can cause adverse effects by interfering in some way with the bodyÕs hormones or chemical messengers and may induce a broad spectrum of biochemical and toxic responses at low environmentally relevant dose . Their potential health effects include reproductive disorders, cancer and impaired development (Hileman, 1994;Colborn and Smolen, 1996;Turusov et al, 2002;Zhou et al, 2004). Studies have suggested that some pesticides have been identified as potential or suspected endocrine disruptors.…”

Composition, Distribution, and Characterization of Suspected Endocrine-Disrupting Pesticides in Beijing GuanTing Reservoir (GTR)

“…Due to the potential health effects of endocrine disrupters including reproductive disorders, cancer, and impaired development (Hileman 1994;Colborn and Smolen 1996;Turusov et al 2002;Zhou et al 2004), trace endocrine-disrupting pesticides in the water body have attracted extensive interest from environmental scientists and the public. Studies have suggested that some pesticides have been identified as potential or suspected endocrine disrupters (Kelce et al 1995;Zhan et al 2000;Ren and Jiang 2001;Hemmer et al 2001).…”

DDT reintroduction for malaria control: the cost-benefit debate for public health

“…In the former, tests in oophorectomized rats or those with low-weight uteruses showed an important response to the metabolite o,p'-DDT, inhibiting estradiol binding to uterine receptors. In the latter, some DDT and DDE metabolites proved capable of inducing MCF-7 cell proliferation in breast tumors, which are estrogendependent 44 .…”

“…Turusov et al 44 report the estrogen-like potential of DDT, assessed in vivo and in vitro. In the former, tests in oophorectomized rats or those with low-weight uteruses showed an important response to the metabolite o,p'-DDT, inhibiting estradiol binding to uterine receptors.…”