Does the ban on DDT have scientific merit?

DDT - a pesticide widely used between 1940 and 1960 - was the focus of great controversy. Rachel Carson's book, Silent Spring, published in 1962, describes the detrimental effects of DDT. The publication of the book, in part, led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, which later (1972) banned the pesticide in the United States. Today, over 50 years after the publication of Silent Spring, many scientists question whether the ban on DDT had scientific merit in 1972 and in the present.

Contact Information: Katie Bryant - South Effingham Middle School - Guyton, GA - email: kbryant@effingham.k12.ga.us