What is DDT ? DDT , or Dichloro-Diphenyl-Trichloroethane, is a colourless, tasteless, and almost odourless crystalline chemical compound, originally developed as an insecticide. It was widely used during World War II to control malaria and typhus among civilians and troops. Uses of DDT DDT was extensively used in agriculture to control pests on crops, and in public health to combat diseases spread by insects. Environmental Impact of DDT DDT 's persistent nature and bioaccumulation have led to ... DDT was first synthesized in 1874 by the Austrian chemist Othmar Zeidler. DDT 's insecticidal action was discovered by the Swiss chemist Paul Hermann Müller in 1939. DDT was used in the second half of World War II to limit the spread of the insect-borne diseases malaria and typhus among civilians and troops. DDT , a synthetic insecticide that belongs to the family of organic halogen compounds and is highly toxic toward a variety of insects as a contact poison that apparently exerts its effects by disorganizing the nervous system. Learn more about DDT in this article. The most prevalent isomer of DDT, DDE, or DDD in the environment is the p,p’ - isomer. Technical-grade DDT contains 65–80% p,p’ -DDT, 15–21% o,p’ -DDT, and up to 4% of p,p’ -DDD (Metcalf 1995), and DDE is the principal metabolite of DDT (Chapter 3).
