It was once regarded as a miracle chemical to protect against disease and improve global food production. The man who discovered its properties even won a Nobel Prize for medicine. But today, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) is best known for its devastating effects on the environment, as well as on animal and human health.
It was first used in the second world war to protect Allied soldiers against malaria and typhus, which are spread by mosquitoes and body lice. After the war, DDT became a widely available pesticide to kill insect crops pests and insects causing disease in humans.
