DDT (Ref: OMS 16) ** clofenotane ** dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane ** dicofane ** chlorophenothane ** NCI C00464 ** Translations

---

Environmental Fate - Ecotoxicology - Human Health - A to Z Index - Home

SUMMARY

DDT is a banned organochlorine insecticide. It has a low aqueous solubility, is relatively volatile and has a low potential to leach to groundwater. It is highly persistent in soil and non-mobile. It is moderately toxic by the oral route in humans and other mammals but is a carcinogen and endocrine disrupter. It shows a high to moderate level of toxicity to most animals and insects although it is relatively non-toxic to birds

GENERAL INFORMATION
for DDT

Description: An obsolete and banned insecticide that was used to control insect vectors of disease, especially malaria

Example pests controlled: Mosquitoes; Houseflies; Body lice; Colarado beetles; Gypsy moths

Example applications: Agricultural crops; Domestic houses; Offices, commercial and industrial situations; Non-cropped sites including roads, rights-of-way; parkland

Efficacy & activity: Not applicable

Availability status: Obsolete, Banned since 1972

Introduction & key dates: 1944

EC Regulation 1107/2009 (repealing 91/414):

Status	Not approved
Dossier rapporteur/co-rapporteur	Not applicable
Date inclusion expires	Expired
EU Candidate for substitution (CfS)	Not applicable
Listed in EU database	Yes

Approved for use () or known to be used () in the following European countries:

AT

BE

BG

CY

CZ

DE

DK

EE

EL

ES

FI

FR

HR

HU

IE

IT

LT

LU

LV

MT

NL

PL

PT

RO

SE

SI

SK

UK

Chemical structure:

Isomerism	Isomer mix containing roughly 75-85% p,p'-DDT, 10-15% o,p'-DDT and a small amount of o,o'-DDT. Any balance is comprised of transformation products dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane (DDD).
Chemical formula	C14H9Cl5
Canonical SMILES	C1=CC(=CC=C1C(C2=CC=C(C=C2)Cl)C(Cl)(Cl)Cl)Cl (for p,p'-DDT)
Isomeric SMILES	No data
International Chemical Identifier key (InChIKey)	YVGGHNCTFXOJCH-UHFFFAOYSA-N (for p,p'-DDT)
International Chemical Identifier (InChI)	InChI=1S/C14H9Cl5/c15-11-5-1-9(2-6-11)13(14(17,18)19)10-3-7-12(16)8-4-10/h1-8,13H (for p,p'-DDT)
Structure diagram/image available?	Yes

General status:

Pesticide type	Insecticide
Substance group	Organochlorine
Minimum active substance purity	-
Known relevant impurities	-
Substance origin	Synthetic
Mode of action	Non-systemic stomach and contact action. Sodium channel modulator.
CAS RN	50-29-3
EC number	200-024-3
CIPAC number	3
US EPA chemical code	029201
PubChem CID	3036
Molecular mass (g mol-1)	354.49
PIN (Preferred Identification Name)	1,1'-(2,2,2-trichloroethane-1,1-diyl)bis(4-chlorobenzene)
IUPAC name	1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethane
CAS name	1,1'-(2,2,2-trichloroethylidene)bis(4-chlorobenzene)
Other status information	WFD priority substance; Subject to PIC regulations; POP - regulated by Stockholm Convention; LRTAP Annex I; PAN Dirty Dozen; OSPAR soc; Marine Pollutant; Rotterdam Convention (Class II)
Relevant Environmental Water Quality Standards	EU Directive 2008/105/EC EQS for total DDT surface waters: annual average 0.025 ug/L UK statutory standard for protection of aquatic life for inland, coastal & territorial surface waters: 0.025 ug/L as annual mean conc
Herbicide Resistance Classification (HRAC)	Not applicable
Herbicide Resistance Classification (WSSA)	Not applicable
Insecticide Resistance Classification (IRAC)	3
Fungicide Resistance Classification (FRAC)	Not applicable
Examples of recorded resistance	Wide variety of insects are resistant Aedes aegypti Aedes vittatus Amblyseius fallacis Apis mellifera many varieties of mosquito
Physical state	White crystalline powder
Related substances & organisms	p,p'-DDT o,p'-DDT o,o'-DDT

Formulations:

Property	Value
Example manufacturers & suppliers of products using this active now or historically	King Tech Hindustan Insecticides Ltd.
Example products using this active	Hildit Heliotox Didigam Dinocide Digmar Genitox Pentachlorin Rukseam
UK LERAP status	No UK approval for use as a pesticide under EC Regulation 1107/2009
Formulation and application details	DDT was available in many different formats including aerosols, dustable powders, emulsifiable concentrates, granules and wettable powders.

ENVIRONMENTAL FATE
for DDT

Property		Value	Source/Quality Score/Other Information	Interpretation
Solubility - In water at 20oC (mg l-1)		0.006	Q3	Low
Solubility - In organic solvents at 20oC (mg l-1)		1000000	L3 - Cyclohexanone	-
		850000	L3 - Dichloromethane	-
		770000	L3 - Benzene	-
		600000	L3 - Xylene	-
Melting point (oC)		109	Q3	-
Boiling point (oC)		185	L2	-
Degradation point (oC)		-	-	-
Flashpoint (oC)		-	-	-
Octanol-water partition coefficient at pH 7, 20oC	P	8.13 X 1006	Calculated	-
	Log P	6.91	V3	High
Bulk density (g ml-1)/Specific gravity		0.99	Q3	-
Dissociation constant (pKa) at 25oC		-	-	-
		Note:
Vapour pressure at 20oC (mPa)		0.025	G4	Low volatility
Henry's law constant at 25oC (Pa m3 mol-1)		8.43 X 10-01	V3	Moderately volatile
GUS leaching potential index		-3.89	Calculated	Low leachability
SCI-GROW groundwater index (μg l-1) for a 1 kg ha-1 or 1 l ha-1 application rate	Value	5.35 X 10-03	Calculated	-
	Note	Estimated concentrations of chemicals with Koc values greater than 9995 ml g-1 are beyond the scope of the regression data used in SCI-GROW development. If there are concerns for such chemicals, a higher tier groundwater exposure assessment should be considered, regardless of the concentration returned by SCI-GROW
Potential for particle bound transport index		-	Calculated	High
Maximum UV-vis absorption L mol-1 cm-1		-	-	-
Surface tension (mN m-1)		-	-	-

Degradation:

Property		Value	Source/Quality Score/Other Information	Interpretation
General biodegradability		-
Soil degradation (days) (aerobic)	DT50 (typical)	6200	L3	Very persistent
	DT50 (lab at 20oC)	2000	A3	Very persistent
	DT50 (field)	-	-	-
	DT90 (lab at 20oC)	-	-	-
	DT90 (field)	-	-	-
	DT50 modelling endpoint	-	-	-
	Note	Best available data, PIC DGD; DT50; Other sources: DT50 3 months in tropical regions, 4-30 years temperate regions.
Dissipation rate RL50 on plant matrix	Value	6.0	R4	-
	Note	Published literature RL50 range 1.6-10.8 days, 4 field crops, various matrices, n=5
Dissipation rate RL50 on and in plant matrix	Value	20.2	R4	-
	Note	Published literature RL50 range 3.4-44.0 days, 8 field crops, various matrices, n=13
Aqueous photolysis DT50 (days) at pH 7	Value	-	-	-
	Note	-
Aqueous hydrolysis DT50 (days) at 20oC and pH 7	Value	-	-	-
	Note	-
Water-sediment DT50 (days)		-	-	-
Water phase only DT50 (days)		-	-	-

Soil adsorption and mobility:

Property		Value	Source/Quality Score/Other Information	Interpretation
Linear	Kd	-	G3	Non-mobile
	Koc	151000
	Notes and range	Log Koc given as 5.18
Freundlich	Kf	-	-	-
	Kfoc	-
	1/n	-
	Notes and range	-
pH sensitivity		-

Key metabolites:

Metabolite		Formation medium	Estimated maximum occurrence fraction	1107/2009 relevancy
DDE (Ref: HSDB 1625)		Soil	-	Not assessed under 91/414 or 1107/2009
DDD (Ref: ENT 4225)		Soil	-	Not assessed under 91/414 or 1107/2009

ECOTOXICOLOGY
for DDT

Property		Value	Source/Quality Score/Other Information	Interpretation
Bio-concentration factor	BCF (l kg-1)	3173	F3 (Other literature Log BCF values range 1.9-5.5 (R3))	Threshold for concern
	CT50 (days)	Not available		-
Mammals - Acute oral LD50 (mg kg-1)		113	A4 Rat	Moderate
Mammals - Short term dietary NOEL	(mg kg-1)	-	L2 Rat, 160 day	-
	(ppm diet)	1		-
Birds - Acute LD50 (mg kg-1)		> 2240	G4 Anas platyrhynchos	Low
Birds - Short term dietary (LC50/LD50)		-	-	-
Fish - Acute 96 hour LC50 (mg l-1)		> 2.5	F4 Oncorhynchus mykiss	Moderate
Fish - Chronic 21 day NOEC (mg l-1)		0.13	F4 Oncorhynchus mykiss	Moderate
Aquatic invertebrates - Acute 48 hour EC50 (mg l-1)		> 0.005	J4 Daphnia magna	High
Aquatic invertebrates - Chronic 21 day NOEC (mg l-1)		-	-	-
Aquatic crustaceans - Acute 96 hour LC50 (mg l-1)		-	-	-
Sediment dwelling organisms - Acute 96 hour LC50 (mg l-1)		> 0.0027	F3 Chironomus riparius, 1 day	High
Sediment dwelling organisms - Chronic 28 day NOEC, static, water (mg l-1)		-	-	-
Sediment dwelling organisms - Chronic 28 day NOEC, sediment (mg kg-1)		-	-	-
Aquatic plants - Acute 7 day EC50, biomass (mg l-1)		-	-	-
Non-target plants		-	-	-
		-	-	-
Algae - Acute 72 hour EC50, growth (mg l-1)		-	-	-
Algae - Chronic 96 hour NOEC, growth (mg l-1)		-	-	-
Honeybees	Contact acute 48 hour LD50 (μg bee-1)	0.54	F4	High
	Oral acute 48 hour LD50 (μg bee-1)	-	-	-
	Unknown mode acute 48 hour LD50 (μg bee-1)	-	-	-
Earthworms - Acute 14 day LC50 (mg kg-1)		> 1000	F3 Eisenia foetida, 56 day	Low
Earthworms - Chronic 14 day NOEC, reproduction (mg kg-1)		-	-	-
Other soil macro-organisms - e.g. Collembola	LR50 / EC50 / NOEC / % Effect	-	-	-
Other arthropod (1)	LR50 g ha-1	-	-	-
	% Effect	Moderately harmful	AB1 Typhlodromus pyri	-
Other arthropod (2)	LR50 g ha-1	-	-	-
	% Effect	-	-	-
Soil micro-organisms		-	-	-
Mesocosm study data	NOEAEC mg l-1	-	-	-
	NOEAEC mg l-1	-	-	-

HUMAN HEALTH AND PROTECTION
for DDT

General:

Property		Value	Source/Quality Score/Other Information	Interpretation
Threshold of Toxicological Concern (Cramer Class)		High (class III)	-	-
Mammals - Acute oral LD50 (mg kg-1)		113	A4 Rat	Moderate
Mammals - Dermal LD50 (mg kg-1 body weight)		> 2510	L3 Rat	-
Mammals - Inhalation LC50 (mg l-1)		-	-	-
Other Mammal toxicity endpoints		-		-
ADI - Acceptable Daily Intake (mg kg-1bw day-1)		0.01	JMPR 2001	-
ARfD - Acute Reference Dose (mg kg-1bw day-1)		None allocated	JMPR 2000	-
AAOEL - Acute Acceptable Operator Exposure Level (mg kg-1 bw day-1)		-	-	-
AOEL - Acceptable Operator Exposure Level - Systemic (mg kg-1bw day-1)		-	-	-
Dermal penetration studies (%)		-	-	-
Dangerous Substances Directive 76/464		List I; List II	-	-
Exposure Limits		[ACGIK/OSHA LT TWA 8 hr: 1 mg/m3]	US EPA	-
Exposure Routes	Public	-
	Occupational	-
European MRLs		Click here for the EU MRL pesticide database
Drinking Water Standards		Non-statutory WHO drinking water guideline 0.001 mg/L	UK EA QS database, 2018	-
Drinking Water MAC (μg l-1)		-	-	-

Health issues:

Carcinogen	Mutagen	Endocrine disrupter	Reproduction / development effects	Cholinesterase inhibitor	Neurotoxicant
Respiratory tract irritant	Skin irritant	Skin sensitiser	Eye irritant	Phototoxicant
		-		-
General human health issues		Highly toxic by ingestion, inhalation and via skin absorption Strong links with breast and womb cancer Endocrine issues - Competitive binding to androgen receptors

: Yes, known to cause a problem
: No, known not to cause a problem
: Possibly, status not identified
- : No data found

Handling issues:

Property		Value	Source/Quality Score/Other Information	Interpretation
General		No information available
CLP classification 2013		Health: H301, H351, H372 Environment: H400, H410
EC Risk Classification		Carcinogen category 3: R40 T - Toxic: R25, R48/25 N - Dangerous for the environment: R50, R53
EC Safety Classification		S1/2, S22, S36/37, S45, S60, S61
WHO Classification		II	-	Moderately hazardous
US EPA Classification (formulation)		II	-	Warning - Moderately toxic
UN Number		2761
Waste disposal & packaging		-

TRANSLATIONS
for DDT

Language	Name
English	DDT
French	DDT
German	DDT
Danish	DDT
Italian	DDT
Spanish	DDT
Greek	DDT
Slovenian	DDT
Polish	DDT
Swedish	DDT
Hungarian	DDT
Dutch	DDT

---

Record last updated: Wednesday 31 October 2018
Contact: aeru@herts.ac.uk