DDT

By: Cade Klem

DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) is a synthetic organic compound commonly used

as an insecticide until scientists discovered its detrimental environmental impacts and human

health problems. Its chemical structure is composed of two aromatic carbon rings bonded to a

central carbon atom. Each ring has one chlorine atom bonded to it and an additional three

chlorine atoms are attached to a carbon atom bonded to the central carbon [1, Fig. 1]. DDT is a

colorless and odorless solid at room temperature (1). DDT

is a persistent organic pollutant (POP) because its

molecular structure is incredibly stable. This causes DDT Figure 1. Chemical structure of DDT

to break down over a long time and allows it to travel long

distances from its origin (1). However, when DDT breaks down, it produces DDE and DDD,

which are both stable compounds. DDT and its constituents are lipid-soluble, meaning they can

dissolve in fats and oils (1).

History

When Othmar Ziedler initially discovered DDT in 1873, the compound was considered

nothing remarkable (2). No tests were performed on the molecule to discover its properties, and,

therefore, DDT was forgotten. However, when the German company Geigy began researching

synthetic pesticides in the 1930s, the molecule was quickly rediscovered (2). Geigy assigned

Paul Müller to the pesticide project (2). After synthesizing and studying hundreds of previously

discovered compounds, Müller stumbled upon the extraordinary insecticidal properties of DDT

in 1939 (2). After field-testing in 1939, Geigy began to sell DDT as Gesarol in 1942 (2).
 When World War II started, DDT was employed to protect food supplies from pests and

soldiers from insect-borne illnesses, such as malaria and typhus (2). The use of DDT allowed the

allies to funnel more of their resources into war production rather than produce pesticides (2).

After the war, the US war production board released DDT to the general public in 1945

(2). Everyone praised DDT’s effectiveness, and in 1948, Müller was awarded the Nobel Prize for

his discovery (2). Even though scientists had previously tested DDT and no potential toxicity in

mammals had been found, by the mid-1940s, concerns about the buildup of DDT in fatty tissues

and breast milk were growing (2). Additionally, scientists began to urge mitigating the

application of DDT as some insects had become resistant to the compound, and bodies of water

were becoming contaminated (2). People ignored these warnings, however, and DDT continued

to be applied heavily throughout the 1950s.

It was not until Rachel Carson, a marine biologist, published Silent Spring in 1962 that

public perception changed (2). Carson’s research and writing about the misuse of pesticides

helped spark the modern environmental movement (2). Activism by this movement convinced

the United States to ban DDT in 1972. Most of the world has now also banned DDT, except for a

few countries that still need it to combat malaria.

Environmental Impacts

Insect Resistance

Due to DDT’s excessive usage during the mid-1900s, some insect pest populations

targeted by the insecticide have become resistant. Mutations altering the sodium channels inside

mosquito cells have stopped DDT from properly binding to the channel, preventing the pesticide

from killing the insect (3). While it is not known if these mutations arose from the application of
DDT or were present in mosquito populations beforehand, they provide mosquitos populations

with an advantage over DDT. These mutated mosquitos can survive DDT sprayings, while DDT

kills the non-mutated mosquitos. After the population is culled of non-mutated mosquitos, the

mutated mosquitos can reproduce, creating offspring with the mutated gene. This process creates

pest populations that are entirely resistant to DDT.

Pollution

Even though DDT was banned early in the 1970s, it is still present in bodies of water and

soil wherever it was applied and even where it was not applied. Since DDT is a POP, it can

remain in the environment for extended periods of time. This almost guarantees organisms in the

polluted environment will become exposed to the insecticide, whether they were intended targets

or not. Additionally, DDT can be deposited far from where it was applied, either by water or air.

DDT applied by bodies of water can seep into the water and be transported to the open ocean.

Air transportation has also caused scientists to find traces of DDT in areas around the Arctic and

Antarctic (1).

An example of a DDT pollution site is the Palos Verdes Shelf

[4, Fig. 2]. Between 1947 and 1971, the DDT manufacturer

Montrose Chemical Company discharged around 1400 tons of DDT

into the ocean off the Palos Verdes Peninsula (5). DDT has polluted

about 44 square kilometers of Palos Verdes coastal ocean (5). While

2007 sediment samples from the site have shown a decrease in the
Figure 2. The polluted
Palos Verdes Shelf
concentration of DDT and its constituents, they are still present and a

risk to the organisms living there (5).

Biomagnification is the process of DDT (or any compound’s) concentrations increasing

in the bodies of organisms as it moves up the food web. This is causes organisms further up on

the food web to be exposed to and absorb greater concentrations of DDT, humans included.

Lake Malawi in eastern Africa, home to the highest fish diversity in the world, was the

location of a 2001 study on DDT biomagnification (6). Scientists found that large predators at

the top of the food web had the greatest concentrations of DDT and its constituents compared to

the smaller fish at the bottom of the food web (6). This trend was accentuated in the fattier

predators and predators eating lipid-rich prey (6).

Human Health and Safety

The human body can absorb DDT by inhaling molecules in the air, absorbing it through

the skin, or consuming contaminated food (1). Once in the body, DDT accumulates in fatty

tissues due to its lipid solubility (1). This means DDT can be found in breast milk (1), and

mothers can potentially expose their babies to DDT. Before birth, infants can become exposed to

DDT as the molecule can cross the placental barrier (1). The body metabolizes DDT into DDE

and DDD (1).

Scientists have studied the correlations between DDT and health problems, but

conflicting results prevent any clear correlations from being discovered. However, ingestion of

DDT can cause headaches, nausea, and convulsions or tremors (1). DDT has the strongest

correlation to causing birth defects and breast cancer than any other health problem studied (1).

The best way to prevent exposing oneself to DDT is to know where food products are

from. Making sure food is grown in countries that do not use DDT is a simple way to minimize
DDT uptake. Additional precautionary measures such as washing fruits and vegetables can

remove any DDT or other pesticides left on them. Cooking contaminated meat can also lower the

concentration of DDT in the tissue. Since absorption of DDT through the lungs and skin is

minimal, and there is unlikely to be any DDT-based insecticides in developed countries, few

measures are necessary to protect oneself from these forms of exposure.

Literature Cited

1. W. Jarman and K. Ballchmiter, “From coal to DDT: the history of the development of the

pesticide DDT from synthetic dyes till Silent Spring,” Endeavour. 36 [4] 131-142 (2012).

2. ATSDR, “Toxicological Profile for DDT, DDE, and DDD,” Federal Register. 1-486, ATSDR,

Atlanta, Georgia, (2019).

3. M. Chen, Y. Du, S. Wu, Y. Nomura, G. Zhu, B. Zhorov, and K. Dong, “Molecular evidence of

sequential evolution of DDT-and pyrethroid-resistant sodium channels in Aedes aegypti,”

PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. 13 [6] 1-21 (2019).

4. EPA, “Palos Verdes Shelf,” <https://archive.epa.gov/region9/superfund/web/html/index-

16.html> accessed September 21, 2021.

5. C. Liao, A. Taylor, W. Kenney, D. Schlenk, and J. Gan, “Historical record and fluxes of DDTs

at the Palos Verdes Shelf Superfund site, California,” Science of the Total Environment.

581-582 697-704 (2017).

6. K. Kidd, H. Bootsma, and R. Hesslein, “Biomagnification of DDT through the benthic and

pelagic food webs of Lake Malawi, East Africa: importance of trophic level and carbon

source,” Environmental Science & Technology. 35 14-20 (2001).