DDT: Dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane
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DDT is a synthetic insecticide of very high contact toxicity which, until recently, was used on a global scale. It was developed in 1939 by Paul Muller, a Swiss chemist, and its production became highly advanced during the Second World War (1939-1945) in the United States of America. However,it has been discovered that DDT, ingested by livestock and transferred to humans in meat and milk, accumulates in the subcutaneous fat of the human body. At the end of 1969, several countries banned the use of DDT and by the early 1970's it is expected that the use of DDT and another chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticide BHC (see N-16-2-8 follow-ing) will cease altogether. However, DDT was a truly important development in its time and a major weapon in the control of malaria. Dr. Muller was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1948. DDT is stable against acids but it becomes dehydrochlorinated in alkaline conditions. Decomposition of DDT in air or ultraviolet light is rare. The Sample in the capsule is pp'-DDT 99.8% up.
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