Word: ddt
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...more that is learned about the pesticide with the awesome name of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, the more dangerous it seems to be. DDT has been accused of contributing to the virtual disappearance of the peregrine-falcon on the East Coast of the U.S., of causing cancer in mice, and of upsetting whole ecosystems. It is ubiquitous, appearing unexpectedly in Lake Michigan's coho salmon and even in Antarctica's snows, where it is carried by winds. Some scientists fear that DDT, washed into oceans, may kill off the plankton that supplies 70% of the earth's oxygen...
...growing concern over DDT last week prompted the U.S. to follow the lead of the states (Michigan and Arizona) and foreign countries (Canada and Sweden) that have already decided to curb use of the chemical. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare Robert Finch announced that over the next two years the Federal Government will phase out all except "essential" uses...
...DDT. Stretching the phase-out to two years, Finch explained, would prevent the "excessive economic disruption" of an immediate ban. But even if the use of DDT were stopped now, he admitted, "it would take ten years or longer for the environment to purge itself" of the chemical...
Clearly Unessential. The vague wording and relatively leisurely pace of Finch's plan failed to satisfy some scientists who have been actively campaigning against DDT. "If you can ban cyclamates in four or five days, then you can act just as quickly against DDT," says Biologist Charles F. Wurster Jr. of the State University of New York at Stony Brook. "Besides, we are already down to 'essential' uses-and they are clearly unessential for human and environmental health standards...
William Rodgers, a Seattle law professor who has joined with the Environmental Defense Fund in suing the federal agencies over the use of DDT, is also skeptical. "It looks like the old 'all deliberate speed' tactics," he says. "Look, a person has a choice whether he wants to drink cyclamates or smoke cigarettes. With DDT we don't have a choice. It's everywhere in our food. Until we know for sure what the Government is planning, we will fight...