Samantha Simmons

September 25, 2006

The infamous insecticide known as DDT, made famous in part by Rachel Carson in Silent Spring, was banned from the United States in nineteen seventy two after years of widespread agricultural use. Although such extensive agricultural use of DDT proved to wreak havoc on the global environment, the chemical is also an important weapon in the fight against malaria which kills more than one million people a year in Africa.

Last Friday, the World Heath Organization forcefully endorsed the in-home use of DDT in Africa, claiming that such use will not harm people or the environment. Additionally, the U.S. government and President Bush have planned to pay for DDT and other indoor insecticide use as part of the five year, 1.2 billion dollar initiative to control malaria in Africa. Currently, seventeen African countries use some form of insecticide to control malaria carrying mosquitoes. Of these, ten use DDT to fight the disease. In these countries, DDT is sprayed in small amounts on the walls of the insides of buildings to control mosquito populations.

The new policy has been met with mild resistance from environmental groups. The Sierra Club expressed "reluctant" support, Beyond Pesticides, a nonprofit group, opposed the policy on the grounds that it is short cited, and the Pesticide Action Network cited questions regarding the effects of DDT on developing children.

For More Information:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/16/world/africa/16malaria.html?ex=1316059200&en=57942e157291f243&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss

http://www.nrdc.org/news/grist/Monday.asp

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5350068.stm

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-09-15-ddt_x.htm