The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. 2002.
DDT
A colorless insecticide that kills on contact. It is poisonous to humans and animals when swallowed or absorbed through the skin. DDT is an abbreviation for dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane.
‡ Although DDT, when it was first invented, was considered a great advance in protecting crops from insect damage and in combating diseases spread by insects (such as malaria), discoveries led to its ban in many countries. Residue from DDT has been shown to remain in the ecosystem and the food chain long after its original use, causing harm and even death to animals considered harmless or useful to man.
