HC Deb 27 March 1995 vol 257 c465W
Mr. Mackinlay

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if DDT is soluble in body fat and tissue of(a) animals and (b) humans. [15514]

Sir Paul Beresford

DDT is soluble in the fatty tissue of man and other animals.

Mr. Mackinlay

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what considerations underlie the banning of DDT. [15507]

Sir Paul Beresford

In the United Kingdom, concern over the environmental effects of DDT led to reductions in use from the 1960s culminating in a complete ban by 1986. Because of its properties and widespread use, DDT accumulated in the environment, exposing animals higher up the food chain to concentrations which produced various toxic effects. DDT was implicated in the decline in populations of a number of these animals, most notably birds of prey through egg-shell thinning.

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