Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Veto Continues Against DDT

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CARACAS, Oct 14 2006 (IPS) - Venezuela rejects use of the insecticide DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane) that was used to fight malaria-carrying mosquitoes a half-century ago, “adopting the criteria that it is toxic, non-biodegradable and accumulates in animal tissue,” said Jesús Toro, director of environmental health at the Ministry of Health. “It's a good decision and we hope that elimination continues of the DDT inventories still held by 24 regional health delegations,” María Eugenia Gil Beroes, spokeswoman for the environmental group Aguaclara, said in a Tierramérica interview.

According to the ecologist, the components of DDT are very harmful because the affect the chemical functions of the cell, causing cancer and fetal malformations. For this reason her group has joined the demands that the World Health Organization desist from recommending even the limited use of DDT in fighting malaria.