# Was Rachel Carson a fraud and is DDT actually safe for humans? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [December 14, 2002, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-rachel-carson-a-fraud-and-is-ddt-actually-safe-for-humans/142774 "2002-12-14T20:08:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jestercard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/35a633/32.png) [@jestercard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jestercard)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2002, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-rachel-carson-a-fraud-and-is-ddt-actually-safe-for-humans/142774/1 "2002-12-14T20:08:43Z")
Why was bioaccumulation not mentioned? DDT is fat soluble and builds up in the tissues and, as it goes up the food chain, builds up in the higher animals. ---
**Author:** ![mok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/edb3f5/32.png) [@mok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mok)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2002, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-rachel-carson-a-fraud-and-is-ddt-actually-safe-for-humans/142774/2 "2002-12-14T21:44:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jestercard \* > \*\*Why was bioaccumulation not mentioned? DDT is fat soluble and builds up in the tissues and, as it goes up the food chain, builds up in the higher animals. \*\* It was mentioned. Emphasis mine: “On the contrary, it’s a potent contact toxin, and though it breaks down quickly in sunlight, it’s much more persistent in soil and water and **accumulates in plants and fatty animal tissues** with long-term exposure.” -mok P.S.: The article mentioned is “Was Rachel Carson a fraud and is DDT actually safe for humans?” ( [http://www.straightdope.com/columns/021213.html](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/021213.html) ) ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2002, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-rachel-carson-a-fraud-and-is-ddt-actually-safe-for-humans/142774/3 "2002-12-14T23:33:39Z")
Although I agree with the sentiment that DDT can be a useful tool when used _very sparingly_, I think that it would be helpful to acknowledge that the breakdown products of DDT: DDD and DDE, are themselves also very persistent and dangerous chemicals, something ignored by every DDT proponent I’ve ever heard. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2002, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-rachel-carson-a-fraud-and-is-ddt-actually-safe-for-humans/142774/4 "2002-12-15T15:46:52Z")
Welcome to the SDMB, and thank you for posting your comment. Please include a link to Cecil’s column if it’s on the Straight Dope web site. To include a link, it can be as simple as including the web page location in your post (make sure there is a space **before** and **after** the text of the URL). Cecil’s column can be found on-line at the link provided by mok. * * * moderator, «[**Comments on Cecil’s Columns**](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/forumdisplay.php?forumid=1)» ---
**Author:** ![chunda21](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e495f1/32.png) [@chunda21](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chunda21)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2002, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-rachel-carson-a-fraud-and-is-ddt-actually-safe-for-humans/142774/5 "2002-12-15T17:00:13Z")
Why would anyone want to use DDT anyway? From what I have heard and read, Pyerethrin, a nutural plant extract, is as effective, completely biodegradable, can be quite cheap to manufacture (just plant a couple of fields with these daisies and wait for them to grow - just look at the canola boom. Ten years ago no one had ever heard of them). I’ve heard nicotine is also a good insecticide, and would give the tobacco industry a legitimate outlet for its product rather than hooking children to kill them with cancer. However, I am not to sanguine about this - I don’t know if nicotine is carcinogenic on contact with skin or if ingested, just when it is inhaled. Also has anyone considered that 99% of insects are actually useful? Only mosquitoes, moths, termites and houseflies actually bother anyone. (The house fly is a REALLY nasty customer - it can carry up to 30 different lethal diseases, where I understand mozzies only carry malaria, Ross River virus and Murray encephalitis - none of these are friendly, but 3 is not as scary as 30). Maybe the high foreheads who gave us DDT and its derivatives should work on NARROW spectrum insecticides that only work on the specific species that are a problem. Or do what I do - be friendly to spiders and use natural biophage! Spiders (apart from taranntulas, black widows, Sydney funnel webs and redbacks) are harmless and eat the bugs that can kill people. Hug a spider today! ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2002, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-rachel-carson-a-fraud-and-is-ddt-actually-safe-for-humans/142774/6 "2002-12-15T22:32:16Z")
I very nearly started a Pit thread at Cecil; the point isn’t that DDT is dangerous to humies; the point is that it kills off small-mass predators, which is counter-productive. Use fast-breakdown insecticides or none at all, thank you. ---
**Author:** ![jestercard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/35a633/32.png) [@jestercard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jestercard)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-rachel-carson-a-fraud-and-is-ddt-actually-safe-for-humans/142774/7 "2002-12-19T06:44:42Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by mok \* \*\*It was mentioned. Emphasis mine: “On the contrary, it’s a potent contact toxin, and though it breaks down quickly in sunlight, it’s much more persistent in soil and water and **accumulates in plants and fatty animal tissues** with long-term exposure.” -mok OK, something I neglected to notice. However, this point should have been much more gone into. This is the most dangerous part of DDT and should have been covered in greater depth. [http://www.straightdope.com/columns/021213.html](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/021213.html)