DDT and Thinning Eggshells

Factual Questions
1

I have heard recently that there really isn’t all that much evidence of DDT being a horribly toxic chemical, causing cancer and bird egg shell thinning. I’d like to hear from this learned body what evidence lies on either side, preferably with cites.

Stuff I know (I think):

The anti-DDT crowd used to say that it was responsible for Bald Eagle populations dropping. Bald Eagle population dropped before DDT came into use and has since rebounded. Now they just say “predatory bird” populations.

The anti-DDT kick got started by a book called “Silent Spring.” Is it possible that this book (written in the 60’s) is still being touted as evidence despite contrary studies performed in the meantime?

DDT is only produced by a handful of countries anymore, but is used extensively in Africa to combat Malaria-carrying mosquitos (because it’s cheap). Completly eliminating DDT may cause an increase in Malaria cases.

That’s about it. Enlighten me, cause I don’t want to be wrong on this issue.

2

An earlier thread on this subject. . .
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=10733

(It didn’t start out as a DDT thread, but there is some good info in it.)

3

Thanks, Mjollnir, for the link.

I didn’t see much info on that thread, though. Mostly people saying “DDT is evil” and others saying “No it isn’t.” I’m hoping to start a thread on the subject here, just for my own information.

4

Did you look at the link supplied by the venerable UncleBeer in that thread:

http://www.junkscience.com/ddtfaq.htm

5

Just marking this thread so that I can return to it with cites in January when I get back from visiting relatives.

6

Don’t do that, you’ll get piddle all over the…

Oh, wait. You mean with email notification an all that. Not, like, on a tree.

That’s OK, then. Carry on.

7

Mjollnir:

Sorry, yes I did check out that site and they have a lot of cites for DDT not being all that bad.

My only problem is I’m not sure how reliable junkscience.com is. I’ve heard varying opinions.

I’m of the opinion that it’s not okay for people to lie or pass on lies just to get people interested in issues like the environment, AIDS, etc. I wish that there was a method that was as effective as scare tactics, but I still don’t approve of them.

At the same time, I don’t want to blindly listen to the other side either.

It’s not that I have anything but good wishes for people who want to be crusaders, but I won’t tolerate being lied to for any reason.

Wevets: I’ll be waiting to hear your cites!

8

Please accept my apologies for my extended absence; unfortunately I have not been able to address this as quickly and thoroughly as I would like to, since I’m interested in the subject.

What I have not yet managed to do is thoroughly go over the contentions on both sides yet, so I’ll post my thoughts on that to this thread some time in the future. (I hope no one’s in a real hurry for this information).

What I have managed to do is assemble a list of references that I am looking through (about as quickly as a Florida canvassing board through a pile of suspicious chad) to help me form an opinion.

I thought I’d just post a list of references so that if people are interested, they can look at the literature themselves:

[ul]
Phillips, DJH. “Bioaccumulation” In Callow, P. (Ed.) 1993. Handbook of Ecotoxicology, Blackwell, p. 378-396.

LeBlanc, GA. 1995. Trophic-level differences in the bioconcentration of chemicals: implications in assessing environmental biomagnification. Environmental Science and Technology 29:154-160.

Moore, MJ et al. 1996. Trends in hepatic tumours and hydropic vacuolation, fin erosion, organic chemicals and stable isotope ratios in winter flounder from Massachusetts, USA. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 32(6):458-470.

Colborn, T et al. 1993. Developmental effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in wildlife and humans. Environmental Health Perspectives, 101(5):378-384.

Stone, R. 1994. Environmental estrogens stir debate. Science, 265:308-310.

Swartz, RC et al. 1994. Sediment toxicity, contamination and amphipod abundance at a DDT- and Dieldrin-contaminated site in San Francisco Bay. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 13(6): 949-962.

Kaiser, J and Enserink, M. 2000. Treaty takes a POP at the dirty dozen. Science 290:2053.

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 1990, 9(6):797-805*

Environmental Pollution, 1996, 91(1):127-129*

Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 2000, 45(2):93-105*

Chemosphere, 2000, 40(9-11):1075-1082*

Environmental Research, 2000, 83(3):293-297*

Human and Experimental Toxicology, 1999, 18(10):602-606*

Emu, 1993, 93(1):1-11*

Journal of Wildlife Management, 1991, 55(2): 294-299*
[/ul]

*the ones without authors & titles are articles I haven’t gotten and read yet.

There’s tons of literature on DDT and its degredation products, DDD and DDE, out there. My list is a little tweaked towards marine systems instead of birds and humans like the OP is interested in, but if I get the chance I’ll look up some more bird and human stuff too.

There’s also a wealth of information out there on the web, but since you’ll find both pro- and anti-DDT websites, I thought I’d stick to the printed literature. If anyone wants a list of websites I’ve come across, I could post that.

I shall return… (hopefully faster than MacArthur did to the Phillipines :wink: )