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dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Medical, Acronyms, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.07 sec.

DDT

 in full dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane

Synthetic insecticide belonging to the family of organic halogens. In 1939 its toxicity to a wide variety of insects was discovered (by Paul Hermann Müller, who was awarded a Nobel Prize for his work) and effectively used against many disease vectors. By the 1960s, many species of insects had developed populations resistant to DDT; meanwhile, this highly stable compound was accumulating along the food chain and having toxic effects on various birds and fishes. During the 1960s it and similar chemicals were found to have severely reduced the populations of certain birds, including the bald eagle.


dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane [dī¦klȯr·ō·dī¦fen·əl·trī¦klȯr·ō′e‚thān]
(organic chemistry)
DDT


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POPs--for example, polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethene (p,p'-DDE), the most stable merabolite of DDT--are ubiquitous environmental contaminants.
Othmar Zeidler, a German chemist, first created dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane in 1874.
The most cost-effective and safe insecticide has been, and in many instances still is, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT).
 
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