All About Water

What Is DDT?

DDT, the abbreviation for dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, is a well-known chemical pesticide with a controversial history.

The Properties of DDT

DDT does not naturally occur. Instead, it must be chemically synthesized. Because DDT has caused so much controversy, it has been marketed under several trade names, like Anofex, Chlorophenothane, Dicophane, and Neocidol. When ingested by insects, DDT causes spasms and eventually death. However, some mutated insects have developed a gene that has made them resistant to insecticides like DDT. When ingested by humans, DDT can disrupt our endocrine systems.

The History of DDT

The chemist Othmar Zeidler first synthesized DDT in 1874. However, he was not aware that the chemical could work as an insecticide. Later, in 1939, the Swiss scientist Paul Hermann Muller discovered DDT’s insecticidal properties. He was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1948 for his discovery. DDT was first used as a pesticide during WWII, where it worked so well as an insect killer that some soldiers labeled it the “atomic bomb” of pesticides. After WWII, DDT was made available to farms, where it could be used on crops. It soon became the most popular insecticide.

Rachel Carson Questions DDT’s Safety

In 1962, biologist Rachel Carson published a book called Silent Spring, a book that many credit with beginning the environmental movement. In Silent Spring, Carson questioned whether indiscriminately spraying DDT onto crops was harming the environment. She was the first scientist to truly critique the safety of releasing chemicals into the environment without knowing how they would impact us or our world. Carson worried that pesticides like DDT were harming the environment and causing cancer in humans. Largely because of Silent Spring’s popularity, the United States banned DDT’s agricultural usage in 1972.

DDT Today

After being banned, DDT is much less common today. Between 1950 and 1980, worldwide agriculture used over 40,000 tons of DDT each year. In 2009, however, only 3313 tons of DDT were produced, and they were produced mainly for the treatment of malaria, not for agricultural use. Environmentalists believe that the DDT ban has helped endangered species make comebacks, most notably the bald eagle.

Approximately 70% of Earth’s surface is covered with water. The oceans hold about 96.5% of this water and the remainder is found in rivers, lakes, streams, glaciers and underground. With an ever increasing population, and because of the misuse of Earth’s waters, measures eventually had to be put in place that would protect and preserve this vital resource. Hence, this need brought about the Clean Water Act.

What is the Clean Water Act?

The Clean Water Act was originally enacted in 1948 and introduced as the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. In 1972 the Act was amended and expanded. In 1977 the Act was again largely amended and at that time it came to be known as The Clean Water Act, or, simply as the CWA. The Act was put in place to regulate the discharge of toxic chemicals in the water supply. The Act also regulates quality standards for surface waters. Prior to the Clean Water Act, industries as well as individuals simply discharged all manner of wastes from pipes or ditches directly into bodies of water. The Clean Water Act was designed to regulate this and to help stop further pollution of our waters by requiring permits from the EPA, or Environmental Protection Agency. In addition to regulation, the CWA also forced violators to clean up. Further violations result in ever increasing fines and other penalties.

What does the Clean Water Act regulate?

Not only does the Clean Water Act regulate the disposal of chemicals or other wastes that are allowed to enter any bodies of water, it also provides means of enforcing the regulations, and authorizes funding for wastewater treatment facilities and monetary grants to states for water quality programs. The Act also provides provisions for the protection of wildlife by requiring permits to dispose of wastes or toxic chemicals. Some sections of the Act, such as Section 404 which pertains to the use of wetlands, are very controversial.

How does the Clean Water Act effect businesses?

Prior to the Act, it was common for businesses such as factories to simply run a pipe to a body of water and allow their waste products to flow out of it. This practice was detrimental to fish, other marine life and to the quality of the water supply itself. It was the intent of the Act to bring about the elimination of the practice of discharging pollutants into navigated waters by 1985. Another goal was to restore water quality to levels which would once again support the propagation of fish and other wildlife. Businesses who were in the habit of allowing their waste products to run into the waters were now required to find other means of disposal. To allow run off of any kind, they must now have permits which are issued by the EPA. Heavy fines are imposed for failure to comply.

Agriculture is one business that has been impacted greatly by the Clean Water Act. For example, prior to its institution, farmers had no regulations as to how much manure they could spread on their fields. Applied too heavily, or combined with rainwater, the manure ran off and flowed into nearby ditches and streams. It also leeched into the water table, contaminating drinking water in the surrounding area. The CWA provided regulations to lessen these effects. It also provided the means of enforcing such regulations.

How does the Clean Water Act effect consumers?

The CWA ensures that consumers have clean and safe water for their needs. Oceans, rivers, lakes and streams are cleaner as a result of the Clean Water Act. Our waters are once again populated with fish and other marine life and their ecosystems have been restored. Thanks to the CWA it is safer to drink, we can swim in and use these waters for other recreational purposes once again.