DDT

Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, is a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound, an organochloride. Originally developed as an insecticide, it became infamous for its environmental impacts. DDT was first synthesized in 1874 by the Austrian chemist Othmar Zeidler. DDT's insecticidal action was discovered by the Swiss chemist Paul Hermann Müller in 1939. DDT was used in the second half of World War II to limit the spread of the insect-born diseases malaria and typhus among civilians and troops. Müller 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". By October 1945, DDT was available for public sale in the United States. Although it was promoted by government and industry for use as an agricultural and household pesticide, there were also concerns about its use from the beginning.

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How DDT exposure contributes to Alzheimer's disease risk

New research helping San Diego Zoo's effort to save the California condor — while the condors on the California coast are still struggling with DDT contamination, the new study reports that the birds in Baja Mexico, which live inland, have far fewer contaminants in their blood.

Conservationists find high DDT and PCB contamination risk for critically endangered California coastal condors

Study finds mysterious DDT chemicals in California condors — DDT-related chemicals were seven times more abundant in coastal condors than condors that fed farther inland.

Consequences of DDT Exposure Could Last Generations

Massive DDT dumping ground found off the Los Angeles coast is bigger than anyone thought

DDT exposure in grandmothers linked to obesity, earlier periods in granddaughters

Two high-tech Deep-sea robots that will comb large swaths of the ocean floor with sonar for DDT waste barrels near Catalina — As many as half a million barrels could still be underwater today