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Land-Related Environmental Regulations of the United States
Published in Daniel T. Rogers, Environmental Compliance Handbook, 2023
FEPCA defines the term “unreasonable adverse effects on the environment” to mean (USEPA 2021c): Any unreasonable risk to humans or the environment, taking into account the economic, social, and environmental costs and benefits of the use of any pesticide.A human dietary risk from residues that result from a use of a pesticide in or on any food inconsistent with the standard under Section 408 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938. The significant revisions to FIFRA in 1972 were the direct result of a book by Rachel Carson titled Silent Spring (1962), which documented the harmful effects of dichlorodiphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT). DDT is a synthetic organic compound first developed in 1874. The insecticide properties of DDT were not discovered until 1939. DDT was commonly used during World War II for prevention of malaria, typhus, body lice, and bubonic plague. Reportedly, due to its use, cases of malaria dropped from 400,000 in 1946 to virtually none in 1950 (USEPA 2021c). Once it was discovered that DDT worked effectively as an insecticide, its use and applications increased significantly. From 1950 until 1970, more than 40,000 tons were used each year worldwide. In addition, it is estimated that 1.8 million tons or more have been produced globally since 1940 (USEPA 2021d). DDT is still in use in South America, Africa, and Asia as an insecticide to prevent malaria.
Persistent Organic Pollutants: Sources, Impacts, and Their Remediation by Microalgae
Published in Rouf Ahmad Bhat, Moonisa Aslam Dervash, Khalid Rehman Hakeem, Khalid Zaffar Masoodi, Environmental Biotechnology, 2022
Dig Vijay Singh, Atul Kumar Upadhyay, Ranjan Singh, D. P. Singh
DDT, an important pesticide, has beneficial uses in the agriculture but have detrimental impacts on environmental health (Nicolopoulou-Stamati et al., 2016). DDT was used extensively after “World War II” (1945–1972) in the USA for agriculture crops mostly cotton (Stockwell, 2008) and was also used to provide protection to soldiers against insect borne diseases (Kitchen et al., 2009). DDT as insecticide is banned but is still used for control of malaria in India (Sharma et al., 2014). Despite banning of DDT in several countries (Guimarães et al., 2007), the compound remain in the ecosystem for long time owing to its stability (Brown and Wania, 2008) and reluctance to degradation (van den Berg, 2009). Being hydrophobic, DDT can be easily transferred through food chain and finally reach to human body via digestive tract or skin (Bernardes et al., 2015; Snedeker, 2001). Extensive use of DDT not only results in environmental contamination (Ozkara et al., 2016) but also rapid bio-accumulation in the organisms (Sweetman et al., 2005; Jayaraj et al., 2016), phenomena observed by Rachel Carson in 1962 and brought to public attention by mentioning in her book “Silent Spring” (Bernardes et al., 2015). The harmful effects of DDT on living organism have propelled several countries to stop their use of DDT in agriculture and health sectors.
Water Quality and Water Pollution
Published in Armen S. Casparian, Gergely Sirokman, Ann O. Omollo, Rapid Review of Chemistry for the Life Sciences and Engineering, 2021
Armen S. Casparian, Gergely Sirokman, Ann O. Omollo
DDT, or dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, is a pesticide that was used broadly in the middle of the last century. DDT was eventually found to be acutely and chronically toxic to humans and wildlife and was eventually banned globally in the Stockholm Protocol signed in 2001. DDT is a good example of why the chemical properties of some compounds can make them particularly hazardous. DDT is very chemically stable, and its primary decomposition products, DDE (dichlorodiphenylchloroethylene) and DDD (dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane) are similarly toxic. None of these organic molecules are water-soluble. This means that the molecules, once sprayed, have a tendency to not move within the environment. They would not be washed into soil by water, and although they could move within a waterway if the compound was directly introduced into the water, it would settle into sediments or evaporate to return to the environment within weeks. Depending on the source, the environmental lifetime of DDT has been estimated at anywhere between 2 and 30 years, which likely depends very strongly on local environments.
Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) degradation by Streptomyces sp. isolated from DDT contaminated soil
Published in Bioremediation Journal, 2021
Koji Ito, Ahmad Mahmood, Ryota Kataoka, Kazuhiro Takagi
A DDT producing factory was located in the north west of Pakistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which operated between 1963 and 1994 (Khwaja, Jan, and Gul 2006). Although it has been closed for some time, vegetation (500–4500 µg kg−1), soil (7.5–2841 µg g−1), and water (0.07–0.4 µg mL−1) in the surrounding areas still have DDT or its metabolites (Khwaja, Jan, and Gul 2006; Khwaja 2008; Jan et al. 2009; Ahad et al. 2010; Younas et al. 2013; Sohail et al. 2018; Ullah et al. 2019). Distribution of such high quantities of DDT in the ecosystem thus poses serious threats to animals and vegetation along with increased potential for chemical runoff into adjacent water bodies. Immediate cleanup is of paramount importance.
Evaluation of Pilot Scale Domestic Wastewater Reuse System in Terms of Irrigation and Industrial Process Waters in Turkey
Published in Urban Water Journal, 2021
Recep Kaya, Turker Turken, Mehmet Emin Pasaoglu, Ayse Yuksekdag, Sevde Korkut, Ismail Koyuncu
Fifteen different types of micropollutants were chosen as target micropollutants and their removal rates were studied, as summarized in Table 2. DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) is a common type of pesticide used to control insects in agriculture and insects carrying diseases like malaria. It does not have any odor or taste. DDE (dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene) and DDD (dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane) are similar chemicals to DDT. Aldrin, Dieldrin, Endrin, Isodrin, Heptachlor, Benzo(a)pyrene, Pyrene, and DDT-like chemicals are organochlorine insecticides on the list of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Even some developing countries still use these compounds due to their low cost and versatility in industry, agriculture and public health (Zhang et al. 2004). Fluoranthene, Benzo(b)Fluoranthene, Benzo(k)Fluoranthene are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) substances. PAHs are prevalent in urban watersheds, and their concentrations in urban waterways are associated with the degree of urbanization and population density (Meyer, Lei, and Wania 2011). These compounds are toxic to mammals, act like hormones, disrupting the reproductive systems of humans and wildlife. It also allows to monitor the effects of industry, agriculture and surface flow simultaneously. The micropollutant analysis was carried out for WWTP effluent, UF effluent, RO permeate and RO concentrate streams which were taken at different times during operation. The results were listed in Table 2 in the ppt (ng/L) unit. Among the measured micropollutant parameters, they were not detected in the WWTP effluent, UF effluent and RO permeate streams. Very low micropollutant concentrations were detected only in RO concentrate samples.
Environmental contaminants and preeclampsia: a systematic literature review
Published in Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part B, 2018
Emma M. Rosen, MG Isabel Muñoz, Thomas McElrath, David E. Cantonwine, Kelly K. Ferguson
In the 1970s, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) banned DDT, a powerful insecticide, due to evidence suggesting adverse effects on humans and the environment (Hanssen et al. 2013). However, DDT continues to be used to combat malaria in South America, Africa, and Asia (van den Berg 2009). DDE is a metabolite of DDT that persists and might also exert harmful health effects (van den Berg 2009).