Monday, 23 September 2013

DDT: deadly poison or life saver?

The DDT is one of the most famous and disputed insecticide which was discovered in 1939 by Paul Müller. Its was used to solve the malaria and typhus problem. At the beginning scientist welcomed the new compound and Paul Müller won the Nobel Prize. However later they realized that it is much more harmful than helpful.

In Rachel Carson's book we can read several statements about DDT's harmful effects. The most unequivocal finding is that, the compound kills useful insects as well as baleful insects.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency introduced restriction actions, thus the compound was banned in 1970. In Hungary DDT was banned in 1968 first in the world.

There is no argument about that the DDT is the most effective insecticide according to our knowledge. “In terms of efficiently, there is no other insecticide which could compete with DDT” said Don Roberts, tropical diseases expert of Uniformed Services University, to National Geographic.

He also thinks that, in malaria-stricken areas, basically in the developing world, DDT should be used once a year.

The Sierra Club environmental organization has recognized the effectiveness of DDT in the fight against malaria. “We do not oppose the use of DDT in the developing world” said Ed Hopkins, head of Sierra Club.

Where the malaria situation is serious it might be important to consider to use it. But the main problem is that scientists have no idea how to use it so that the usage does not effect the environment. In its current form DDT is life-threatening. Experts recommend that DDT should not scatter everywhere, but to “dusting” it in little quantities on the house walls. This method could be less harmful on the human and natural environment.

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B.J

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