As earth's population grows so does the demand for food, and the use of pesticides has become essential in meeting this demand. The first important synthetic organic pesticide was a chlorinated hydrocarbon, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane or DDT. DDT was discovered in 1939 by Swiss chemist Paul Müeller. In its early days, DDT was a popular pesticide because it was toxic to a wide range of insect pests, yet it appeared to have low toxicity to mammals. DDT was also persistent, which meant the pesticide didn't break down rapidly in the environment and therefore did not need to be reapplied often and since DDT was insoluble it did not wash off by rain or other weather conditions. Although gradually throughout time it was discovered that many insects had developed resistance to DDT, and it was discovered that DDT did in fact pose to be harmful to the ecosystem. This discovery created wide public interest and made people aware that chemicals were polluting the environment. As a resu!

lt DDT was banned for use in North America and other countries in the early 1970’s. Though pesticides, such as DDT, may decrease the number of insects, throughout history it has been proven that t

chronic, long-term exposures, it may be involved with liver cancers, reproductive abnormalities and other human and mammalian effects.

Through current research, scientists have discovered that DDT may have a serious negative effect on humans, if exposed to large quantities of the chemical or exposed to small amounts of a extended period of time. It has been shown that humans may develop several types of cancer, a decreased immune function and chemical sensitivity as a rest of DDT exposure. These discoveries also contributed to the ban of DDT in certain parts of the World.

breast milk is quite often used to measure a population’s exposure to DDT.

In recent years scientists have discovered that DDT harms animals as it travels up the food chain. DDT is sprayed over large fields, not only coating plants, but also seeping into the earth and into the groundwater. These toxic chemicals, especially chlorinated hydrocarbons, such as DDT, have the ability to spread through the food chain because this particular chemical is able to bioaccumulate. The explanation of bioaccumulation lies within the pyramid of energy and certain properties of chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticides. DDT has two properties which makes it subject to bioaccumulation. These properties are a result of persistence because DDT does not readily break down harmless substances, and the fact that DDT is fat soluble, but not water soluble. Thus they are not excreted in watery urine, but accumulate in the fat of animals. Since the transfer of energy from lower to higher trophic levels is extremely efficient, herbivores must eat large quantities of plants mate!

and crop-eating insects. It was first isolated in Germany in 1874, but not until 1939 did the Swiss Nobel Prize-winning chemist Paul Müeller recognize it as a potent

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