"James" wrote in message
ups.com...
from http://www.illinoisraptorcenter.org/...baldeagle.html

*DDT was originally created in 1873. Only when its use as an
insecticide was discovered in 1939, however, did it come into
widespread use. The scientist who made this discovery was awarded the
Nobel Prize in 1948.

After World War II, it became especially popular due to its
effectiveness against mosquitoes that spread malaria and lice that
carried typhus. The World Health Organization estimated that 25 million
lives were saved because of its use. Problems soon surfaced, however,
as many insects began to develop resistance to the insecticide. It was
also discovered to be highly toxic to fish.

Because it does not break down easily, DDT builds up in the fatty
tissues. Animals that ingest it, carry it for some time. It takes an
animal eight years to metabolize one half of the DDT it consumes.
Birds, like the bald eagle, ingested DDT after eating contaminated
fish. The DDT caused the bird's egg shells to be brittle and thin and
to break easily. Eggs often were broken in the nest when the parents
sat on them during incubation. This was one of the reasons populations
declined to dangerous levels.

DDT was banned in the United States in 1973, although it is still used
in other parts of the world. Birds that migrate to other continents are
still at risk. primary source: University of Oxford, Department of
Chemistry


the crap was even used as a fertiliser as it spread up the rate of growth.
As a weed killer it caused the plant to increase its rate of growth until,
in laymans terms, it exhausted itself and decided dying was a better option
than growing. We still have pockets of pastoral land contaminated by DDT.
Nasty shit and if stuffs up exports of pastoral products.

rob