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IPEN Body Burden Community Monitoring Handbook PesticidesDDT (Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) Chemical Name: 1,1,1-Trichloro-2,2-bis-(4-chlorophenyl)-ethane (C14H9Cl5). CAS Number: 50-29-2. Properties: Solubility in water: 1.2-5.5 µg/L at 25°C; vapour pressure: 0.02 x 10 -5 mm Hg at 20°C; log KOW: 6.19 for pp-DDT, 5.5 for pp-DDD and 5.7 for pp-DDE. Discovery/Use: DDT appeared for use during World War II to control insects that spread diseases like malaria, dengue fever and typhus. Following this, it was widely used on a variety of agricultural crops. The technical product is a mixture of about 85% pp’’-DDT and 15% op’-DDT isomers. Persistence/Fate: DDT is highly persistent in soils with a half-life of about 1.1 to 3.4 years. It also exhibits high bioconcentration factors (in the order of 50000 for fish and 500000 for bivalves). In the environment, the product is metabolized mainly to DDD and DDE. Toxicity: The lowest dietary concentration of DDT reported to cause egg shell thinning was 0.6 mg/kg for the black duck. LC50 of 1.5 mg/L for largemouth bass and 56 mg/L for guppy have been reported. The acute toxicity of DDT for mammals is moderate with an LD50 in rat of 113-118 mg/kg body weight. DDT has been shown to have an estrogen-like activity and possible carcinogenic activity in humans. The maximum residue level in food recommended by WHO/FAO, ranges from 0.02 mg/kg milk fat to 5 mg/kg meat fat. Maximum permissible DDT residue levels in drinking water (WHO) is 1.0 µg/L. Source: UNEP Chemicals, Regional Reports of the Regionally Based Assessment of Persistent Toxic Substances Program (2002) Available from: http://www.chem.unep.ch/pts UNEP Chemicals 11-13, chemin des Anemones CH-1219 Chatelaine, GE Switzerland. 
IPEN Body Burden Community Monitoring Handbook - 2003 |
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