this post was submitted on 21 Apr 2025
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Residues of the insecticide DDT have been found to persist at “alarming rates” in trout even after 70 years, potentially posing a significant danger to humans and wildlife that eat the fish, research has found.

Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, known as DDT, was used on forested land in New Brunswick, Canada, from 1952 to 1968. The researchers found traces of it remained in brook trout in some lakes, often at levels 10 times higher than the recommended safety threshold for wildlife.

“DDT is a probable carcinogen that we haven’t used in 70 years here [Canada], yet it’s abundant in fish and lake mud throughout much of the province at shockingly high levels,” said Josh Kurek, an associate professor in environmental change and aquatic biomonitoring at Mount Allison University in Canada and lead author of the research.

The research, published in the journal Plos One, discovered that DDT pollution covers about 50% of New Brunswick province. Brook trout is the most common wild fish caught in the region, and the research found DDT was present in its muscle tissue, in some cases 10 times above the recommended Canadian wildlife guidelines.

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[–] CompactFlax@discuss.tchncs.de 37 points 3 days ago (2 children)

150 year half-life in aquatic environments.

Also, just because it’s not officially used doesn’t mean it’s not unofficially used; I’m sure there were some barrels that went missing here and there.

India continues to manufacture it and China only stopped in 2007.

[–] Fondots@lemmy.world 9 points 3 days ago

I have a friend who's grandfather was a chemist who at least claimed to his family that he mixed up small batches of DDT for mosquito control on his property.

I have no way of verifying that, but I wouldn't be entirely surprised if some rogue chemist with a vendetta against mosquitos was out there doing it.

[–] HellsBelle@sh.itjust.works 4 points 3 days ago

My grandpa was farming in Saskatchewan during those years and he regularly used DDT. He died in '68 of colon cancer.

It was a time when regulation and testing was not good and companies were just throwing stuff onto the market. Which explains some of the soil & water toxicity problems we're facing now.