What is DDT?
DDT is a pesticide that was widely used in the United States until the 1970’s to control insects that destroy crops and carry diseases like malaria. In the environment, DDT breaks down into DDE and DDD; thus we use the term “DDTs” to refer to all DDT compounds that may be present. When DDTs were found to be harmful to both human health and wildlife, the use of DDT was banned in the United States. However, because of their stable chemical structures, DDTs will stay in the environment for a very long period of time.
