DDT facts for kids
DDT is a well-known chemical. It was once used a lot to kill insects. This type of chemical is called a pesticide. The letters DDT stand for Dichloro-Diphenyl-Trichloroethane.
Contents
How Was DDT Discovered?
A Swiss scientist named Paul Hermann Müller discovered how useful DDT was in 1939. He found that it could kill many different insects. For this important discovery, he won the Nobel Prize in 1948.
Why Did People Stop Using DDT?
In the 1960s, scientists began to study DDT more closely. They found some worrying things. They learned that using large amounts of DDT everywhere might not be a good idea. Studies showed that DDT could potentially cause serious health problems.
DDT was also found to be very harmful to birds and other animals. These animals could get sick if they ate insects or other creatures that had DDT in them. This is because DDT would build up in the food chain. Because of these concerns, other pesticides were developed to replace DDT.
Is DDT Still Used Today?
An agreement called the Stockholm Convention started in 2004. This agreement limits how DDT can be used. It mostly allows DDT to be used for something called "vector control." This means using it to stop insects that spread diseases, like mosquitos that carry malaria.
The convention allows DDT for public health reasons. This is because there are not many other affordable ways to fight these diseases. DDT is still used in some places today, like India and North Korea.
Images for kids
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Commercial product concentrate containing 50% DDT, circa 1960s
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Commercial product of Ciba-Geigy Néocide (powder box, 50 g) containing 10% DDT, made in France.
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An airplane spraying DDT over Baker County, Oregon as part of a spruce budworm control project, 1955
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See also
In Spanish: Dicloro difenil tricloroetano para niños
