Yeh, hey while your taking your sip of DDT, have a snort of asbestos too.
How pre-term do you want your babies anyway?
In addition, many critics repeatedly asserted that she was calling for the elimination of all pesticides despite the fact that Carson had made it clear she was not advocating the banning or complete withdrawal of helpful pesticides, but was instead encouraging responsible and carefully managed use with an awareness of the chemicals' impact on the entire ecosystem. In fact, she concludes her section on DDT in Silent Spring not by urging a total ban, but with Practical advice should be "Spray as little as you possibly can" rather than "Spray to the limit of your capacity." [2]
Epidemiology Branch, US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, P O Box 12233, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA.
rogan@niehs.nih.gov
DDT (bis[4-chlorophenyl]-1,1,1-trichloroethane) is a persistent insecticide that was used worldwide from the mid 1940s until its ban in the USA and other countries in the 1970s. When a global ban on DDT was proposed in 2001, several countries in sub-Saharan Africa claimed that DDT was still needed as a cheap and effective means for vector control. Although DDT is generally not toxic to human beings and was banned mainly for ecological reasons, subsequent research has shown that exposure to DDT at amounts that would be needed in malaria control might cause preterm birth and early weaning, abrogating the benefit of reducing infant mortality from malaria. Historically, DDT has had mixed success in Africa; only the countries that are able to find and devote substantial resources towards malaria control have made major advances. DDT might be useful in controlling malaria, but the evidence of its adverse effects on human health needs appropriate research on whether it achieves a favourable balance of risk versus benefit.
blacklabman said:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.carson04mar04,0,5744199.story?coll=bal-local-headlines
I am sure the hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, who have died from malaria due to the outlawing of DDT might question this honor.
