Can exposure to DDT and DDE make people sick?
DDT and DDE mostly affect the nervous system. Early signs of poisoning include changes of the feeling in the face, hands, and feet, headache, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, incoordination, and tremors. More severe poisonings cause seizures and possibly coma. When exposure stops, these effects get lower. People who worked with DDT for a long time had some changes in the levels of liver enzymes, but these improved after exposure stopped. In animals, short-term exposure to large amounts of DDT in food harmed the nervous system, and long-term exposure harmed the liver. Studies in lab animals also showed that short-term exposure to DDT in food might harm reproduction.
