DDT was originally banned because of its effects on wildlife, particularly bird species. Image: Laura Boness
DDT has been found in human breast milk, despite being banned in 1972.
DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) is an organochlorine that was once widely used as an insecticide. Its use in agriculture was banned nearly 30 years ago, after it was suggested to cause cancer and have a detrimental effect on wildlife.
146 samples of human breast milk have been chemically analysed and found to contain a number of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), most of which belonged to the DDT group. Dioxins, other organochlorins and banned pesticides which were once widely used in agriculture were also present.
