DDT is known as an “endocrine disruptor” — the chemical directly affects hormone regulation and reproductive health in animals and humans.

The most alarming effect in males is feminization. The chemical affects hormonal balance in both men and women.

Babies exposed to DDT while in the womb are at high risk from the effects of DDT toxicity.

Little is known about the effect of DDT in populations with high rates of infectious and auto-immune diseases. Scientists have documented the interrelationship between the endocrine system and the immune system and indicate a potentially devastating effect.

What is an endocrine disruptor?

{ the endocrine system is a system of glands located in different parts of the body; the glands release hormones which control the growth and development of the body into the bloodstream }

“Endocrine disruptors are man-made synthetic chemicals and natural phytoestrogens (naturally occurring plant- or fungal metabolite-derived estrogen) that act on the endocrine systems of humans and animals by mimicking, blocking and/or interfering in some manner with the natural instructions of hormones to cells.”

VARIOUS HARMFUL EFFECTS OF DDT

Studies have found in humans:

• Urogenital birth defects caused by exposure to DDT (hypodasia, undescended testes)

• Low sperm count, low sperm motility in adult men

• Brain damage in infants exposed to DDT during pregnancy

• Mothers expose infants acutely to DDT through breast milk, (DDT acts as a slow poison)

• Links to breast cancer

• Maternal fetal transfer (during pregnancy DDT in the mother’s body is transferred to her child)

• Ambiguous-sex babies

• Premature babies

• Still-born births

Under researched: Effects on immunity and the immune system

In nature:

• DDT has a tendency to travel: resulting in contamination of wildlife and domestic animals

• Development of eggs in male fish

• DDT exists in places where it hasn’t been sprayed due to the “grasshopper effect,” which describes the characteristic of DDT to move from hot to cold areas (in other words, the whole world is affected by DDT spraying)

More Information:

Sources in Brief

Fry & Toome (1981) , Skekkeback et. al., Jager et al. (2006), PANNA, PANNA Malaria Day Audio Briefing

(Please contact us if you need detailed sources).