DDT and Pesticides Directions

American School of Guatemala Secondary SectionDate: 08/31/2012 APESTrimester 1 Activity # 1- DDT and Pesticides Directions: read carefully each statement and answer it. Watch the following video – DDT and Pesticides, and write a short reflection paragraph about the topic. If you want to see again this video, you can find it on the following direction. http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=LQ64sV0nSVU This video shows how DDT was used in the world to help humans. Later on people started to notice that this pesticide was very strong that was able to kill plagues and insects rapidly that they started using DDT even more.Even though it was helpful in some way it was also harmful. It was harmful because it had a chemical that was not bonding and was the one that made the harmful changes like in frogs that had 5 legs and in humans the harm that was caused was that it created cancer and mutations on people like the boy that was born without eyes. DDT may change in a way some peopleâ€⠄¢s life but it really affects humans and their genes. Go to the following address and watch Biocides: Rachel Carson. http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=vbtp2B-IFmw. Go to the following address and DDT: Weapon Against Disease – Documentary Film (1945) http://www. outube. com/watch? v=RmeqHs4svbQ and write a short paragraph for the most important aspects covered on the video. In the video above it shows the creation of DDT. This particular product is characterized by a white insecticide and was formulated in many forms, it tells that DDT is taseless and almost odourless. It was first created in 1874 and used with great success during World War II in order to control malaria and thyphus within civilians and U. S troops. DDt was also used in agricultural insecticide and later its production. It shows how people were taking advantage of DDT without knowing the harm it would cause.On the following address http://www. naturalnews. com/DDT. html you would be find some articles about DDT and its relation with human health. Choose two articles, read it write a short paragraph. Study shows DDT to be toxic to nervous systems of babies: This article talks about how Africa used DDT to fight malaria spread by mosquitos. It tells how a link between chemicals and the development delays in infants that were in utero when their mother were exposed. An important fact is that despite that DDT was transferred by breast milk, children who were breast feeding developed more normally even though the mother had high levels of DDT.It proves that it is not clear that DDT has ever killed anyone but they are still investigating DDT ‘s effects on humans. High levels of DDT still present in fish: Waters in the U. S still possess high levels of DDT contamination. This shows that the pesticide is still found with high levels in fish caught near Los Angeles area. It is also told that it’s associated with increase risk of liver cancer, and affect the human reproductive and ne rvous systems, and toxic to many animals, specially aquatic life. All this means that the amount of DDT in fish has not decreased by the last years.It concludes with how many companies have released a large quantity of DDT in water systems. On the following address http://www. epa. gov/aboutepa/history/topics/ddt/01. html you would be find some articles about DDT and its relation with human health. Choose two articles, read it write a short paragraph (Just Read) A sweet relaxing time for you on this weekend, if you like the video games go to the following direction and play it. Write your score. http://www. mofunzone. com/online_games/pest_attack. shtml 7,500 Vocabulary: write the definitions. Bioaccumulation:The accumulation of a substance, such as toxic chemical, in various tissues of a living organism. Takes place within an organism when the rate of intake of a substance is greater than the rate of excretion or metabolic transformation of that substance. Biomagnification: The inc reasing concentration of a substance, such as a toxic chemical, in the tissues of organisms at successively higher levels in a food chain, As a result of biomagnification, organisms at the top of the food chain generally suffer great harm from a persistent toxin or pollutant than those at lower levels Example of the DDT on food chain