VIBS 222: Silent Spring-DDT

What effect did cadmium have on the uterus from the study with RATS?

hypertrophy and hyperplasia

What was the primary focus of Rachel Carson's Book "Silent Spring"?

harmful effects of pesticides on the environment

What is DDT's full name?

dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane

How many lives does WHO credit DDT with?

50,000,000

Who discovered DDT?

Paul Muller in 1938

When was DDT primarily used?

1940-1950s/ WWII

used by Allied troops to decrease Malaria and Typhus vectors

Why did DDT concentrations have to be DOUBLED?

resistance to DDT

evidence grew that DDT + metabolites were bioaccumulating

When/Where was DDT first BANNED?

Norway and Sweden: 1970

US: 1972 by the EPA

What has DDT been linked to in ALLIGATORS?

abnormal genitalia in Lake Apopka, Florida

What has DDT been linked to in BALD EAGLES?

sharp decline in population due to eating DDT contaminated fish

What did DDT exposure in PREGNANCY cause?

low birth weight

small skull circumferences

What receptors have DDT/DDE been shown to interact with?

estrogen and androgen receptors

What was the PURPOSE of DDT?

controlling agricultural pests

disease-carrying insects

What are some other CHLORINATED insecticides?

chlordane

dieldrin

mirex lindane

methoxychlor

What were some INSECTS affected by DDT?

gypsy moth

fire ants

What DISEASE was almost eradicated by DDT?

dutch elm disease

Who/When was SILENT SPRING published?

1962: Rachel Carson, a marine biologist

What was the PURPOSE of Silent Spring?

expose of damage to the enviornment from the indiscriminate use of chlorinated pesticides

What was the GOAL of Silent Spring?

a plea for less harmful methods of insect control and a changed attitude toward nature

A technology that SEEMS harmless

may have serious long term effects on the enviornment