What is DDT?

Question

I'm doing an eagle report and I know that it killed a lot of eagles.

Answer 1

DDT was the first modern pesticide and is arguably the best known organic pesticide. It is a highly hydrophobic colorless solid with a weak, chemical odor that is nearly insoluble in water but has a good solubility in most organic solvents, fat, and oils. DDT is also known under the chemical names 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane and dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (from which the abbreviation was derived).

DDT was developed as the first of the modern insecticides early in World War II. It was initially used with great effect to combat mosquitoes spreading malaria, typhus, and other insect-borne human diseases among both military and civilian populations, and as an agricultural insecticide.

Answer 2

DDT was developed as the first of the modern insecticides early in World War II. It was initially used with great effect to combat mosquitoes spreading malaria, typhus, and other insect-borne human diseases among both military and civilian populations, and as an agricultural insecticide.

Answer 3

check out Rachel Carson. She was instrumental in banning chemicals harmful to wildlife. She wrote books about her studies. http://www.rachelcarson.org/ she is the founder of the current environmental movement.

A little side note. In Harrisburg Pennsylvania there is a State office building that houses the Dept of Env Protection and the Dept of Conservation and Nature, called the Rachel Carson Building. AND there are a pair of nesting Peregrine Falcons on the building they are filmed and appear on the DEP web site.

http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/falcon/ all you can sometimes see live is a shot of the box, now empty, but there are picture that you can view.

Answer 4

This is one of the first synthetic pesticides:
Dichloro-
Diphenyle-
Trichloro ethane.
While it was used to kill insects, it was later found to be in the diet of eagles and caused their egg shells to be weakened, interferring with the developement o fthe eaglelet.

Answer 5

DDT=dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane
It is now banned in the US.