The DDT Story
DDT Spray
If there is a single pesticide almost everyone can name, it's
DDT.
DDT was one of the first chemicals in widespread use as a
pesticide. Following World War II, it was promoted as a wonder-chemical, the
simple solution to pest problems large and small. Today, nearly 40 years after
DDT was banned in the U.S., we continue to live with its long-lasting effects:
·
Food
supplies: USDA found DDT breakdown products in 60% of heavy cream
samples, 42% of kale greens, 28% of carrots and lower percentages of many other
foods.
·
Body
burden: DDT breakdown
products were found in the blood of 99% of the people tested by CDC.
·
Health
impacts: Girls exposed to
DDT before puberty are 5 times more likely to develop breast cancer in middle
age, according to the President’s Cancer Panel.
Banned for agricultural uses worldwide by the 2001 Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants,
the use of DDT is still permitted in small quantities in countries that need
it, with support mobilized for the transition to safer and more effective
alternatives. The treatment of DDT under the Stockholm Convention is strongly supported by PAN and our
international partners.
Rachel Carson
highlighted the dangers of DDT in her groundbreaking 1962 book Silent
Spring. Carson used DDT to tell the broader story of the disastrous
consequences of the overuse of insecticides, and raised enough concern from her
testimony before Congress to trigger the establishment of the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA).
Her work attracted outrage from the pesticide industry and
others. Her credibility as a scientist was attacked, and she was derided as
“hysterical,” despite her fact-based assertions and calm and scholarly
demeanor. Following the hearings, President Kennedy convened a committee to
review the evidence Carson presented. The committee's review completely
vindicating her findings.
One of the new EPA's first acts was to ban DDT, due to both concerns
about harm to the environment and the potential for harm to human health. There
was also evidence linking DDT with severe declines in bald eagle populations
due to thinning eggshells. Since DDT was banned in the U.S., bald eagles have made a dramatic recovery.
Recently, Carson's work has again been targeted by conservative
groups. Capitalizing on the iconic status of DDT, these groups are promoting
widespread use of the chemical for malaria control as part of a broader effort to manufacture doubt about
the dangers of pesticides, and to promote their anti-regulatory, free market
agenda while attempting to undermine and roll back the environmental movement's
legacy.
Many DDT promoters are also in the business of
denying climate change.
Attacks on Carson from groups like The Competitive Enterprise
Institute and Africa Fighting Malaria portray DDT as the simple
solution to malaria, and blame Carson for “millions of
deaths in Africa.” Many of these DDT promoters are
also in the business of denying climate change and defended the tobacco
industry by denying the health harms of smoking.
Human Health Harms
The science on DDT's human health impacts has
continued to mount over the years, with recent studies showing harm at very low
levels of exposure. Studies show a range of human health effects linked to DDT
and its breakdown product, DDE:
·
breast & other
cancers
· male infertility
· miscarriages & low
birth weight
· developmental delay
· nervous system &
liver damage
No 'Silver Bullet' for Malaria Control
The only remaining legal use of DDT
is to control malaria-carrying mosquitoes. A devastating disease, malaria kills
more than 800,000 people every year, the majority of deaths among children in
Sub-Saharan Africa. Indoor spraying with DDT is one of a number of tools being
used to control malaria around the world. Only in rare cases is it the most
effective choice.
Successful malaria control programs have been built all over the
world using a variety of approaches that are affordable and appropriate to
local needs. All include community involvement, appropriate technology and
investment in public health capacity and education. These community-based,
integrated solutions have proven successful in places as diverse as Mexico, Kenyaand Vietnam.
Unfortunately, vocal groups such as Africa Fighting Malaria
continue to promote a simplistic "DDT
or nothing" debate, ignoring on-the-ground evidence from
around the world that more effective approaches are saving lives without
putting communities in harm's way from exposure to the long-lasting chemical.
PAN works with
international allies, governments and on-the-ground groups in Africa to
mobilize resources and political will to combat malaria, and remains active in
international legal processes to support the global phase out of DDT and
promote the safest and most effective malaria control solutions.
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XP21279 is a new L-dopa prodrug being developed by Xenoport for the treatment of Parkinson's Disease. It uses naturally occurring, high capacity nutrient transporters in the gastrointestinal tract to generate active and efficient absorption into the body.
However, there was a tendency for an increased risk of Parkinson's Disease in those women who reached menopause when they were 55 or older. Current hormone users for less than 5 years showed a higher risk of developing Parkinson's Disease, which was anywhere between 11% more likely to more than twice as likely. However, this association disappeared for current hormone users after 5 years of use. Oral contraceptive use for ten years was associated with a lower risk of Parkinson's Disease, down to 59% of what would otherwise be expected.
Dieldrin levels are above normal in brains of people with Parkinson's Disease. Dieldrin was the most frequently detected Organochlorine pesticide in people with Parkinson's Disease thereby suggesting that dieldrin is associated with Parkinson's Disease. Organophosphorus pesticides are significantly associated with Parkinson's Disease. The frequent use of household pesticides containing Organophosphorus chemicals increased the chances of developing Parkinson's Disease by 71%. Exposure can lead to Parkinsonism. Rotenone can cause the neurochemical, neuropathological and behavioural features of Parkinson's disease, including hypokinesia and rigidity.
Synuclein proteins are found throughout the body. One protein from this family, alpha-synuclein, is found extensively in neurons and characterize several neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson's Disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation type 1, and multiple system atrophy, which collectively are termed synucleinopathies. As part of the agreement, Roche and Prothena will initiate a research collaboration focused on including incorporation of Roche's proprietary Brain Shuttle technology to increase delivery of therapeutic antibodies to the brain. 
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