coefficientgiving.substack.com/p/how-banning-toxic-pesticides-could
1 correction found
Those aren’t in use now
This is too absolute. DDT is still in use today in some countries for disease-vector control under a limited exemption to the Stockholm Convention.
Full reasoning
The statement is inaccurate as a blanket claim.
DDT is still used today in some countries for public-health vector control, even though most agricultural uses were phased out long ago.
- The U.S. EPA says the Stockholm Convention "bans all uses of DDT except for a limited exemption" for controlling mosquitoes that transmit malaria, and adds that DDT remains one of the insecticides recommended by WHO for certain indoor residual spray programs.
- The official Stockholm Convention DDT Register lists countries with current DDT use notifications, including Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, India, Mauritius, Micronesia, Namibia, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Because DDT itself is an organochlorine insecticide, saying "those aren’t in use now" is false without an important qualification such as "for most agricultural uses" or "largely phased out in agriculture."
2 sources
- DDT - A Brief History and Status | US EPA
The Stockholm Convention on POPs ... bans all uses of DDT except for a limited exemption for the use of DDT to control mosquitoes ... DDT is one of 12 pesticides recommended by the World Health Organization for indoor residual spray programs.
- Acceptable Purposes: DDT
The Stockholm Convention's DDT Register lists parties with current use notifications for DDT, including Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, India, Mauritius, Micronesia, Namibia, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.