DDT
DDT’s properties as an insecticide were discovered in 1939 by Paul Mueller. The chemical was immediately put to work during World War II to fight insect-borne diseases. In 1948, Mueller was awarded the Nobel Prize.
"Without any doubt, the material has already preserved the life and health of hundreds of thousands." - Professor G. Fischer, presenting the Nobel Prize to Paul Mueller |
DDT remained popular during peacetime. It was applied heavily to crops; in 1959, more than 80 million pounds were used in the United States. Safety concerns were close to nonexistent, and products containing DDT were commonplace for household as well as agricultural use.
"DDT is harmless by itself. When mixed with talc or kerosene it is deadly to insects but harmless to man, so far as the evidence goes." -from a 1944 New York Times article by Waldemar Kaempffert However, Kaempffert, and the conventional wisdom on DDT's safety and effectiveness, were wrong.
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