DDT is a pesticide that was once widely used to control insects in agriculture as well as those that carry communicable diseases such as malaria. It is a white crystalline solid without an odor or taste to it. Although it was banned in the U.S. in 1972 due to damage to wildlife, it is still used in some parts of the world.

How You Are Exposed

Since DDT can build up in plants and in the fatty tissues of certain animals, you can be exposed to DDT by eating contaminated foods, such as roots and leafy vegetables, and fatty meats, fish, and poultry, but levels are very low. Foods imported from countries that still allow DDT to be used to control pests have a greater chance of being contaminated. You can also breathe in contaminated air or ingest contaminated water or soil particles near waste sites or landfills that may contain higher levels of DDT.

Unfortunately, DDT can also be transmitted to infants via breast milk.

How Can DDT Affect Your Health?

DDT affects the nervous system. People exposed to large amounts of DDT became excitable and experienced tremors and seizures but the effects disappeared once the exposure stopped. Animal experiments have found that long term exposure to low levels of DDT affect the liver (and may increase the risk of liver cancer) and short term oral exposure to small amounts may also have deleterious effects on reproduction.