We’re safer without DDT

Re “Study finds DDT, breast cancer link,” Sept. 30

This article demonstrates that in science you can get clearer answers when you ask the right questions. DDT has long been associated with such serious human health problems as premature births and decreased milk supply for nursing mothers, as well as being clearly catastrophic for some nonhuman species. But earlier studies of breast cancer and DDT could only examine women exposed in their later years and did not find a relationship.

This new study examines breast cancer rates among women with exposure during their critical developmental years and finds those rates to be disturbingly high. Environmental Defense was instrumental in getting DDT banned in the United States in 1972, and since that time we have seen a steady decline in human contamination rates, which this study suggests may be a lifesaver to future generations. One study can’t prove the link, but these findings contradict the notion that DDT is a benign or misunderstood substance. Americans are safer and healthier without DDT in our environment.

John Balbus MD

Chief health scientist

Environmental Defense

New York