PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT 

 DDT, DDE, and DDD CAS#: DDT 50-29-3 

 DDE 72-55-9 

 DDD 72-54-8 

Division of Toxicology September 2002 

__________________________________________________________________________________________

DEPARTMENT of HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Public Health Service

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ Telephone: 1-888-422-8737 Fax: 770-488-4178 E-Mail: atsdric@cdc.gov 

This Public Health Statement is the summary 

chapter from the Toxicological Profile for DDT, 

DDE, and DDD. It is one in a series of Public 

Health Statements about hazardous substances and 

their health effects. A shorter version, the 

ToxFAQsTM is also available. This information is 

important because this substance may harm you. 

The effects of exposure to any hazardous substance 

depend on the dose, the duration, how you are 

exposed, personal traits and habits, and whether 

other chemicals are present. For more information, 

call the ATSDR Information Center at 1-888-422-

8737. 

_____________________________________ 

This public health statement tells you about DDT, 

DDE, and DDD and the effects of exposure. 

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

identifies the most serious hazardous waste sites in 

the nation. These sites make up the National 

Priorities List (NPL) and are the sites targeted for 

long-term federal cleanup activities. DDT, DDE, 

and DDD have been found in at least 442 of the 

1,613 current or former NPL sites. However, the 

total number of NPL sites evaluated for these 

substances is not known. As more sites are 

evaluated, the sites at which DDT, DDE, and DDD 

are found may increase. This information is 

important because exposure to these substances may 

harm you and because these sites may be sources of 

exposure. 

When a substance is released from a large area, 

such as an industrial plant, or from a container, such 

as a drum or bottle, it enters the environment. This 

release does not always lead to exposure. You are 

exposed to a substance only when you come in 

contact with it. You may be exposed by breathing, 

eating, or drinking the substance, or by skin contact. 

If you are exposed to DDT, DDE, and DDD, many 

factors determine whether you'll be harmed. These 

factors include the dose (how much), the duration 

(how long), and how you come in contact with 

them. You must also consider the other chemicals 

you're exposed to and your age, sex, diet, family 

traits, lifestyle, and state of health. 

While this document is specifically focused on the 

primary forms or isomers of DDT, DDE, and DDD 

(namely p,p'-DDT, p,p'-DDE, and p,p'-DDD), other 

isomers of these compounds will be discussed when 

appropriate. In some cases, the term DDT will be 

used to refer to the collection of all forms of DDT, 

DDE, and DDD. Should this not be clear from the 

context, the term ΣDDT (Σ is used to mean sum of) 

will be used. 

 

1.1 WHAT ARE DDT, DDE, AND DDD? 

DDT (1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(pchlorophenyl)ethane) is a pesticide that was once 

widely used to control insects on agricultural crops 

and insects that carry diseases like malaria and 

typhus, but is now used in only a few countries to 

control malaria. Technical-grade DDT is a mixture 

of three forms, p,p'-DDT (85%), o,p'-DDT (15%), 

and o,o'-DDT (trace amounts). All of these are 

white, crystalline, tasteless, and almost odorless 

solids. Technical grade DDT may also contain DDE 

(1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethylene) and 

DDD (1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane) 

as contaminants. DDD was also used to kill pests, 
 PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT 

 DDT, DDE, and DDD CAS#: DDT 50-29-3 

 DDE 72-55-9 

 DDD 72-54-8 

Division of Toxicology September 2002 

__________________________________________________________________________________________

DEPARTMENT of HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Public Health Service

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ Telephone: 1-888-422-8737 Fax: 770-488-4178 E-Mail: atsdric@cdc.gov 

but to a far lesser extent than DDT. One form of 

DDD (o,p'-DDD) has been used medically to treat 

cancer of the adrenal gland. Both DDE and DDD 

are breakdown products of DDT. 

DDT does not occur naturally in the environment. 

After 1972, the use of DDT was no longer permitted 

in the United States except in cases of a public 

health emergency. It is, however, still used in some 

other areas of the world, most notably for 

controlling malaria. The use of DDD to kill pests 

has also been banned in the United States. 

1.2 WHAT HAPPENS TO DDT, DDE, AND 

DDD WHEN THEY ENTER THE 

ENVIRONMENT? 

Before 1973 when it was banned, DDT entered the 

air, water, and soil during its production and use as 

an insecticide. DDT is present at many waste sites, 

including NPL sites; releases from these sites might 

continue to contaminate the environment. Most 

DDT in the environment is a result of past use; 

DDD was also used as a pesticide to a limited extent 

in the past. DDT still enters the environment 

because of its current use in other areas of the 

world. DDE is only found in the environment as a 

result of contamination or breakdown of DDT. 

DDD also enters the environment during the 

breakdown of DDT. 

Large amounts of DDT were released into the air 

and on soil or water when it was sprayed on crops 

and forests to control insects. DDT was also 

sprayed in the environment to control mosquitos. 

Although the use of DDT is no longer permitted in 

the United States, DDT may be released into the 

atmosphere in other countries where it is still 

manufactured and used, including Mexico. DDT, 

DDE and DDD may also enter the air when they 

evaporate from contaminated water and soil. DDT, 

DDE, and DDD in the air will then be deposited on 

land or surface water. This cycle of evaporation and 

deposition may be repeated many times. As a result, 

DDT, DDE, and DDD can be carried long distances 

in the atmosphere. These chemicals have been 

found in bogs, snow, and animals in the Arctic and 

Antarctic regions, far from where they were ever 

used. Some DDT may have entered the soil from 

waste sites. DDT, DDE, and DDD may occur in the 

atmosphere as a vapor or be attached to solids in air. 

Vapor phase DDT, DDE, and DDD may break 

down in the atmosphere due to reactions caused by 

the sun. The half-life of these chemicals in the 

atmosphere as vapors (the time it takes for one-half 

of the chemical to turn into something else) has 

been calculated to be approximately 1.5-3 days. 

However, in reality, this half-life estimate is too 

short to account for the ability of DDT, DDE, and 

DDD to be carried long distances in the atmosphere. 

DDT, DDE, and DDD last in the soil for a very long 

time, potentially for hundreds of years. Most DDT 

breaks down slowly into DDE and DDD, generally 

by the action of microorganisms. These chemicals 

may also evaporate into the air and be deposited in 

other places. They stick strongly to soil, and 

therefore generally remain in the surface layers of 

soil. Some soil particles with attached DDT, DDE, 

or DDD may get into rivers and lakes in runoff. 

Only a very small amount, if any, will seep into the 

ground and get into groundwater. The length of 

time that DDT will last in soil depends on many 

factors including temperature, type of soil, and 
 PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT 

 DDT, DDE, and DDD CAS#: DDT 50-29-3 

 DDE 72-55-9 

 DDD 72-54-8 

Division of Toxicology September 2002 

__________________________________________________________________________________________

DEPARTMENT of HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Public Health Service

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ Telephone: 1-888-422-8737 Fax: 770-488-4178 E-Mail: atsdric@cdc.gov 

whether the soil is wet. DDT lasts for a much 

shorter time in the tropics where the chemical 

evaporates faster and where microorganisms 

degrade it faster. DDT disappears faster when the 

soil is flooded or wet than when it is dry. DDT 

disappears faster when it initially enters the soil. 

Later on, evaporation slows down and some DDT 

moves into spaces in the soil that are so small that 

microorganisms cannot reach the DDT to break it 

down efficiently. In tropical areas, ΣDDT may 

disappear in much less than a year. In temperate 

areas, half of the ΣDDT initially present usually 

disappears in about 5 years. However, in some 

cases, half of the ΣDDT initially present will remain 

for 20, 30, or more years. 

In surface water, DDT will bind to particles in the 

water, settle, and be deposited in the sediment. DDT 

is taken up by small organisms and fish in the 

water. It accumulates to high levels in fish and 

marine mammals (such as seals and whales), 

reaching levels many thousands of times higher 

than in water. In these animals, the highest levels of 

DDT are found in their adipose tissue. DDT in soil 

can also be absorbed by some plants and by the 

animals or people who eat those crops. 

1.3 HOW MIGHT I BE EXPOSED TO DDT, 

DDE, AND DDD? 

People in the United States are exposed to DDT, 

DDE, and DDD mainly by eating foods containing 

small amounts of these compounds. Although not 

common today, exposure to DDT could also occur 

through inhalation or absorption through the skin 

during the handling or application of DDT. Even 

though DDT has not been used in this country since 

1972, soil may still contain some DDT that may be 

taken up by plants and eaten by animals and people. 

DDT from contaminated water and sediment may 

be taken up by fish. The amount of DDT in food has 

greatly decreased since DDT was banned and 

should continue to decline. In the years 1986 to 

1991, the average adult in the United States 

consumed an average of 0.8 micrograms (a 

microgram is a millionth of a gram) of DDT a day. 

Adults consumed slightly different amounts based 

on their age and sex. The largest fraction of DDT in 

a person's diet comes from meat, poultry, dairy 

products, and fish, including the consumption of 

sport fish. Leafy vegetables generally contain more 

DDT than other vegetables, possibly because DDT 

in the air is deposited on the leaves. Infants may be 

exposed by drinking breast milk. 

DDT or its breakdown products are still present in 

some air, water, and soil samples. However, levels 

in most air and water samples are presently so low 

that exposure is of little concern. DDT levels in air 

have declined to such low levels that it often cannot 

be detected. In cases where DDT has been detected 

in air, it is associated with air masses coming from 

regions where DDT is still used or from the 

evaporated DDT from contaminated water or soil. 

p,p'-DDT and p,p'-DDE concentrations measured in 

air in the Great Lakes region in 1990 reached 

maximum levels of 0.035 and 0.119 nanograms (a 

nanogram is a billionth of a gram) of chemical per 

cubic meter of air (ng/m3), respectively. Levels 

were generally much lower, especially during the 

winter months. In 1995-1996, soils in the corn belt, 

where DDT was heavily used in the past, contained 

on the average about 10 nanograms of DDT in a 
 PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT 

 DDT, DDE, and DDD CAS#: DDT 50-29-3 

 DDE 72-55-9 

 DDD 72-54-8 

Division of Toxicology September 2002 

__________________________________________________________________________________________

DEPARTMENT of HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Public Health Service

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ Telephone: 1-888-422-8737 Fax: 770-488-4178 E-Mail: atsdric@cdc.gov 

gram of soil. In recent years, most surface water has 

not contained detectable amounts of DDT. 

People who work or live around NPL sites or work 

with contaminated soil or sediment would most 

likely be exposed by accidentally swallowing soil, 

having skin contact with the soil, inhaling DDT 

vapor, or breathing in DDT in dust. 

1.4 HOW CAN DDT, DDE, AND DDD ENTER 

AND LEAVE MY BODY? 

Today in the United States, DDT, DDE, or DDD 

enters the body mainly when a person eats 

contaminated food. The actual amounts of DDT, 

DDE, and DDD absorbed from foods depends on 

both the concentration of chemical in the food and 

the amount of food eaten. Small amounts of DDT, 

DDE, and DDD may also be breathed in and 

absorbed into the body. DDT, DDE, and DDD are 

often attached to particles too large to pass very far 

into the lungs after air containing them is breathed. 

These particles are more likely to be carried upward 

in the mucus of the air passages and swallowed than 

for the DDT to be absorbed in the lungs. DDT, 

DDE, and DDD do not enter the body through the 

skin very easily. 

Once inside the body, DDT can break down to DDE 

or DDD. DDE and DDD, in turn, break down to 

other substances (called metabolites). DDT, DDE, 

and DDD are stored most readily in fatty tissue, 

especially DDE. Some of these stored amounts 

leave the body very slowly. Levels in fatty tissues 

may either remain relatively the same over time or 

even increase with continued exposure. However, as 

exposure decreases, the amount of DDT in the body 

also decreases. DDT metabolites leave the body 

mostly in urine, but may also leave by breast milk 

and pass directly to nursing infants. 

1.5 HOW CAN DDT, DDE, AND DDD AFFECT 

MY HEALTH? 

Eating food with large amounts (grams) of DDT 

over a short time would most likely affect the 

nervous system. People who swallowed large 

amounts of DDT became excitable and had tremors 

and seizures. They also experienced sweating, 

headache, nausea, vomiting, and dizziness. These 

effects on the nervous system went away once 

exposure stopped. The same type of effects would 

be expected by breathing DDT particles in the air or 

by contact of the skin with high amounts of DDT. 

Tests in laboratory animals confirm the effect of 

DDT on the nervous system. 

No effects have been reported in adults given small 

daily doses of DDT by capsule for 18 months (up to 

35 milligrams [mg] every day). People exposed for 

a long time to small amounts of DDT (less than 20 

mg per day), such as people who worked in 

factories where DDT was made, had some minor 

changes in the levels of liver enzymes in the blood. 

A study in humans showed that increasing 

concentrations of p,p'-DDE in human breast milk 

were associated with reductions in the duration of 

lactation. An additional study in humans found that 

as the DDE levels in the blood of pregnant women 

increased, the chances of having a pre-term baby 

also increased. It should be mentioned, however, 

that the levels of DDE in the blood at which this 

was noticed were higher than those currently found 

in women from the general population in the United 
 PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT 

 DDT, DDE, and DDD CAS#: DDT 50-29-3 

 DDE 72-55-9 

 DDD 72-54-8 

Division of Toxicology September 2002 

__________________________________________________________________________________________

DEPARTMENT of HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Public Health Service

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ Telephone: 1-888-422-8737 Fax: 770-488-4178 E-Mail: atsdric@cdc.gov 

States, but not higher than those that may be found 

in women in countries where DDT is still being 

used. 

To protect the public from the harmful effects of 

toxic chemicals and to find ways to treat people 

who have been harmed, scientists use many tests. 

One way to see if a chemical will hurt people is to 

learn how the chemical is absorbed, used, and 

released by the body; for some chemicals, animal 

testing may be necessary. Animal testing may also 

be used to identify health effects such as cancer or 

birth defects. Without laboratory animals, scientists 

would lose a basic method to get information 

needed to make wise decisions to protect public 

health. Scientists have the responsibility to treat 

research animals with care and compassion. Laws 

today protect the welfare of research animals, and 

scientists must comply with strict animal care 

guidelines. 

Animal studies show that long-term exposure to 

moderate amounts of DDT (20-50 mg per kilogram 

[kg] of body weight every day) may affect the liver. 

Tests in animals also suggest that short-term 

exposure to DDT and metabolites in food may have 

a harmful effect on reproduction. In addition, we 

know that some breakdown products of DDT can 

cause harmful effects on the adrenal gland. This 

gland is situated near the kidney and produces 

hormones (substances produced by organs and 

released to the bloodstream to regulate the function 

of other organs). 

Studies in animals have shown that oral exposure to 

DDT can cause liver cancer. Studies of DDTexposed workers did not show increases in deaths or 

cancers. Based on all of the evidence available, the 

Department of Health and Human Services has 

determined that DDT is reasonably anticipated to be 

a human carcinogen. Similarly, the International 

Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has 

determined that DDT is possibly carcinogenic to 

humans. EPA has determined that DDT, DDE, and 

DDD are probable human carcinogens. 

1.6 HOW CAN DDT, DDE, AND DDD AFFECT 

CHILDREN? 

This section discusses potential health effects from 

exposures during the period from conception to 

maturity at 18 years of age in humans. 

Children can be exposed to DDT, DDE, or DDD by 

eating food or drinking breast milk contaminated 

with these compounds. DDT is a pesticide, and even 

though it has not been used in this country since 

1972, soil has small amounts and, under certain 

conditions, contaminated soil transfers DDT to 

crops. Children can be exposed also by eating food 

imported from countries where DDT is still being 

used. Because of their smaller weight, intake of an 

equivalent amount of DDT by children and adults 

would result in a higher dose (amount of DDT 

ingested per kilogram of body weight) in children 

than in adults. In the United States between 1985 

and 1991, the average 81⁄2-month-old infant 

consumed 4 times as much DDT for each pound of 

body weight than the average adult. However, the 

amounts of DDT consumed were much smaller than 

the amounts that have been tested in studies in 

animals. 
 PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT 

 DDT, DDE, and DDD CAS#: DDT 50-29-3 

 DDE 72-55-9 

 DDD 72-54-8 

Division of Toxicology September 2002 

__________________________________________________________________________________________

DEPARTMENT of HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Public Health Service

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ Telephone: 1-888-422-8737 Fax: 770-488-4178 E-Mail: atsdric@cdc.gov 

DDT from the mother can enter her unborn baby 

through the placenta. DDT has been found in 

amniotic fluid, human placentas, fetuses, and 

umbilical cord blood. DDT has been measured in 

human milk; therefore, nursing infants are also 

exposed to DDT. In most cases, however, the 

benefits of breast-feeding outweigh any risks from 

exposure to DDT in mother's milk. Nevertheless, 

women with unusually high amounts of DDT or 

metabolites in their bodies (compared to 

background amounts measured in the general 

population) should be informed of the potential 

exposure of the fetus if they become pregnant and 

the potential risks of breast-feeding. 

We do not know whether children differ from adults 

in their susceptibility to health effects from DDT. 

There are few studies of young children exposed to 

DDT. A child who drank DDT in kerosene only 

once vomited and had tremors and convulsions and 

eventually died; however, we do not know how 

much of this was caused by the kerosene. Adults 

who swallowed DDT in much greater amounts than 

those found in the environment had effects on their 

nervous systems. The same harmful effects will 

probably happen to young children if they eat food 

or drink liquids with large amounts of DDT. 

However, because DDT is no longer used or made 

in the United States, such exposure is not likely to 

happen. Two studies have shown a higher dose of 

DDT is needed to kill newborn and young rats than 

adult rats. In one study, when the dose was divided 

up and given over 4 days, the same dose of DDT 

killed rats of all ages. 

There is no evidence that exposure to DDT at levels 

found in the environment causes birth defects in 

people. One study in U.S. children 12 to 14 years of 

age found that boys whose mothers had higher DDE 

levels in their bodies when they were pregnant were 

taller than those whose mothers had lower DDE 

levels. A study of German children found that girls 

with higher DDE in the blood at 8 years of age were 

shorter than those with lower DDE levels. The 

reason for the discrepancy between the two studies 

is unknown. Studies in animals have shown that 

DDT given during pregnancy can slow the growth 

of the fetus. Exposure to DDT or its metabolites 

during development may change how the 

reproductive and nervous systems work. This seems 

to be caused by the property of DDT or its 

metabolites to mimic the action of natural 

hormones. Male rats exposed to the DDT 

breakdown product, p,p'-DDE, as fetuses or while 

nursing, showed changes in the development of 

their reproductive system. One study found that the 

beginning of puberty is delayed in male rats given 

relatively high amounts of p,p'-DDE as juveniles. 

Also, one study showed that exposure of mice to 

DDT during the first weeks of life resulted in 

neurobehavioral problems when tests were done 

later in life. These studies raise concerns that 

exposure to DDT early in life might cause harmful 

effects that remain or begin long after exposure has 

stopped. 

1.7 HOW CAN FAMILIES REDUCE THE 

RISK OF EXPOSURE TO DDT, DDE, AND 

DDD? 

If your doctor finds that you have been exposed to 

significant amounts of DDT, DDE, and DDD, ask 

whether your children might also be exposed. Your 
 PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT 

 DDT, DDE, and DDD CAS#: DDT 50-29-3 

 DDE 72-55-9 

 DDD 72-54-8 

Division of Toxicology September 2002 

__________________________________________________________________________________________

DEPARTMENT of HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Public Health Service

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ Telephone: 1-888-422-8737 Fax: 770-488-4178 E-Mail: atsdric@cdc.gov 

doctor might need to ask your state health 

department to investigate. 

At this time, most people are exposed to DDT and 

its breakdown products as a result of eating foods or 

drinking liquids that may be contaminated with 

small amounts of DDT. DDT is a pesticide, but it 

was banned in the United States in 1972. However, 

because of its chemical characteristics, it has stayed 

in the environment and low levels of DDT may be 

present in foods (i.e., fruits, vegetables, meat, and 

fish) for many years. Studies have shown that 

cooking will reduce the amount of DDT in fish. 

Many other countries still use DDT; therefore, food 

brought into the United States from these countries 

may contain DDT. The Food and Drug 

Administration (FDA) analyzes a wide variety of 

imported food items (coffee, tropical fruits, etc.) as 

well as domestic products to insure that pesticide 

residues are below FDA tolerances. DDT has been 

found in both root and leafy vegetables. DDT 

attaches to the roots of plants, but it does not easily 

move to other parts of the plants. DDT in the air can 

be deposited on to the surfaces of plants. Washing 

fruits and vegetables before eating them is a 

healthful practice. 

You and your children may be exposed to DDT by 

eating certain types of fish or wildlife caught from 

certain locations. Some states, Native American 

tribes, and U.S. territories have issued fish and 

wildlife advisories to warn people about DDTcontaminated fish and turtles. Each state, Native 

American tribe, or U.S. territory sets its own criteria 

for issuing fish and wildlife advisories. A fish 

advisory will specify which bodies of water have 

restrictions. The advisory will tell you what type 

and sizes of fish are of concern. The advisory may 

completely ban eating fish or tell you to limit your 

meals of a certain fish type. For example, an 

advisory may tell you to eat a certain type of fish no 

more than once a month. The advisory may tell you 

only to eat certain parts of the fish or turtle and how 

to prepare or cook the fish or turtle to decrease your 

exposure to DDT. The fish or wildlife advisory may 

be stricter to protect pregnant women, nursing 

mothers, and young children. To reduce your 

children's exposure to DDT, obey fish and wildlife 

advisories. Information on fish and wildlife 

advisories in your state is available from your state 

health or natural resources department. Signs may 

also be posted in certain fishing areas. 

1.8 IS THERE A MEDICAL TEST TO 

DETERMINE WHETHER IHAVE BEEN 

EXPOSED TO DDT, DDE, AND DDD? 

DDT, DDE, and DDD can be measured in fat, 

blood, urine, semen, and breast milk. Samples of 

blood and urine are easy to get, and levels in these 

samples may help show the amount of exposure. 

These tests are not readily available at your doctor's 

office, but your doctor can tell you where they can 

be done. Tests may show low, moderate, or 

excessive exposure to these compounds. However, 

such tests cannot show the exact amount of DDT, 

DDE, or DDD to which a person was exposed, or 

predict the chance of health effects in the person. 

 
 PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT 

 DDT, DDE, and DDD CAS#: DDT 50-29-3 

 DDE 72-55-9 

 DDD 72-54-8 

Division of Toxicology September 2002 

__________________________________________________________________________________________

DEPARTMENT of HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Public Health Service

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ Telephone: 1-888-422-8737 Fax: 770-488-4178 E-Mail: atsdric@cdc.gov 

1.9 WHAT RECOMMENDATIONS HAS THE 

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MADE TO 

PROTECT HUMAN HEALTH? 

The federal government develops regulations and 

recommendations to protect public health. 

Regulations can be enforced by law. Federal 

agencies that develop regulations for toxic 

substances include the Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA), the Occupational Safety and Health 

Administration (OSHA), and the Food and Drug 

Administration (FDA). Recommendations provide 

valuable guidelines to protect public health but 

cannot be enforced by law. Federal organizations 

that develop recommendations for toxic substances 

include the Agency for Toxic Substances and 

Disease Registry (ATSDR) and the National 

Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 

(NIOSH). 

Regulations and recommendations can be expressed 

in not-to-exceed levels in air, water, soil, or food 

that are usually based on levels that affect animals; 

then they are adjusted to help protect people. 

Sometimes these not-to-exceed levels differ among 

federal organizations because of different exposure 

times (an 8-hour workday or a 24-hour day), the use 

of different animal studies, or other factors. 

Recommendations and regulations are also 

periodically updated as more information becomes 

available. For the most current information, check 

with the federal agency or organization that 

provides it. Some regulations and recommendations 

for DDT, DDE, and DDD include the following: 

All uses of DDT were banned by EPA in 1972, 

except in cases of public health emergencies. DDT 

was banned because the chemical was building up 

in the environment and possibly hurting wildlife. 

Also, some cancer tests in laboratory animals 

showed positive results. Although DDT is no longer 

used in the United States, federal regulations still 

control the amounts of DDT allowed in food and 

water. 

OSHA states that workers may not be exposed to 

amounts of DDT greater than 1 milligram of DDT 

per cubic meter of air (1 mg/m3) for an 8-hour 

workday, 40-hour work week. EPA estimates that 

drinking 2 liters of water per day containing 0.59 

nanograms of DDT per liter of water (1 nanogram is 

one billionth of a gram) and eating 6.5 grams of fish 

and shellfish per day (from waters containing 0.59 

nanograms DDT per liter) would be associated with 

an increased lifetime cancer risk of one in one 

million. Fish and shellfish tend to concentrate DDT 

from the surrounding water in their tissues. FDA 

has set action levels for DDT/DDE/DDD; these are 

limits at or above which FDA will take legal action 

to remove products from the market. 

 

1.10 WHERE CAN I GET MORE 

INFORMATION? 

If you have any more questions or concerns, 

please contact your community or state health or 

environmental quality department or: 

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

Division of Toxicology 

1600 Clifton Road NE, Mailstop F-32 

Atlanta, GA 30333 
 PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT 

 DDT, DDE, and DDD CAS#: DDT 50-29-3 

 DDE 72-55-9 

 DDD 72-54-8 

Division of Toxicology September 2002 

__________________________________________________________________________________________

DEPARTMENT of HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Public Health Service

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ Telephone: 1-888-422-8737 Fax: 770-488-4178 E-Mail: atsdric@cdc.gov 

Information line and technical assistance: 

Phone: 888-422-8737 

FAX: (770)-488-4178 

ATSDR can also tell you the location of 

occupational and environmental health clinics. 

These clinics specialize in recognizing, evaluating, 

and treating illnesses resulting from exposure to 

hazardous substances. 

To order toxicological profiles, contact: 

National Technical Information Service 

5285 Port Royal Road 

Springfield, VA 22161 

Phone: 800-553-6847 or 703-605-6000 

Reference 

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

(ATSDR). 2002. Toxicological Profile for DDT, 

DDE, DDD. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of 

Health and Human Services, Public Health Service.