Ddt

DDT Assignment

1.DDT is a very harmful pesticide that is used to control many different insects such as mosquitoes.

2.DDT is used as an insecticide in the agriculture and used to fight diseases such as malaria and typhus.

3.The population of pelicans shrank by about 90 percent in the 1960's. Scientist believe this is due to the pesticide DDT.

4.For decades a chemical plant had been dumping thousands of pounds of pesticides into the sewers. This sewer water eventually entered the coastal waters where it was absorbed by fishes, the pelicans ate the fishes and were infected. The DDT causes the pelicans to lay eggs with thin shells so when the pelicans try to incubate the eggs they get smashed.

5.She wrote the book Silent Spring, a book about the dangers of new chemicals and how they effect the environment. The book basically opened the eyes of Americans about how chemicals are killing animals.

6.A suspected cause of the decline in pelicans is due to the pesticide Endrin. This pesticide caused the death of 5 million menhaden which are small fishes that pelicans feed on.

7.The heat caused by Carson's book caused the EPA to ban the pesticide.

8. The Audubon Society and the Natural Resources Defense Council decided to stop exports of DDT to third-world and many countries. This instituted a number of lawsuits which gained the support of the U.S. Agency for International Development and also convinced others to stop using DDT.

9.120 countries adopted the ban on DDT but some countries still use it in small amounts to battle malaria.

10. There is much evidence that supports the harmlessness of DDT. Some of the main concerns with DDT is that it causes cancer.