DDT

: For other uses, see DDT (disambiguation).

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DDT was the first modern pesticide and is arguably the most well known organic pesticide. It is a highly hydrophobic colorless solid with a weak, chemical odor that is nearly insoluble in water but has a good solubility in most organic solvents, fat, and oils. DDT is also known under the chemical names 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane and dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (from which the abbreviation was derived).

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DDT was developed as the first of the modern insecticides early in World War II. It was initially used with great effect to combat mosquitoes spreading malaria, typhus, and other insect-borne human diseases among both military and civilian populations. The Swiss chemist Paul Hermann M?ller was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1948 "for his discovery of the high efficiency of DDT as a contact poison against several arthropods."

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In 1962, an American activist named Rachel Carson published the book Silent Spring, which alleged that DDT caused cancer and harmed bird reproduction by thinning egg shells. The book resulted in a large public outcry which eventually led to the pesticide being banned for agricultural use in the USA, and was one of the signature events in the birth of the environmental movement. It was subsequently banned for agricultural use in many countries in the 1970s due to its negative environmental impact. There is still a great controversy regarding the extent of this impact and the reduced use of DDT to fight human diseases.

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Pesticide: A pesticide is a chemical, or sometimes biological agent such as a virus or bacteria, used to control, to repel, to attract, or to kill pests, which are organisms, including insects, weeds, birds, mammals, fish, and microbes, that compete with humans for food, destroy property, spread disease, or ar...

Hydrophobic: redirect Hydrophobe...

Odor: An odor (American English) or odour (Commonwealth English) is the object of perception of the sense of olfaction. Odors are also called smells. The term stench or pong is used to describe an unpleasant odor. The term fragrance or aroma is used primarily by the food and cosmetic industry to describe ...