What happens to DDT and DDE when they enter the environment?
In air, half the DDT is gone within 2 days. It does not dissolve easily in water. DDT sticks strongly to soil particles and does not move quickly to underground water. DDT lasts a very long time in soil. Half the DDT in soil will break down in 215 years. Some DDT will evaporate from soil and surface water into the air, and some is broken down by sunlight or by microscopic plants or animals in soil or surface water. DDT in soil usually breaks down to form DDE or DDD. DDT builds up in plants and in the fatty tissues of fish, birds, and animals. When humans eat these plants and animals, they take up and store the DDT and its breakdown products in their fatty tissues. Tissue storages of DDE in the general population originate almost entirely from dietary DDE rather than DDT conversion.
