Dichlorodiphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT) can be degraded to several stable breakdown products, such as DDE and DDD. Usually DDT refers to the sum of all the DDT-related components.

DDT was first developed for use as an insecticide in Switzerland in 1939, and it was first used on a large scale on the Allied troops in World War II. Commercial, non-military use began in the United States in 1945. The discovery of its insecticidal properties was considered to be one of the great moments in public health disease control, as it was found to be effective on the carriers of many leading causes of death throughout the world including malaria, dysentery, dengue fever, yellow fever, filariasis, encephalitis, typhus, cholera, and scabies. It could be sprayed to control mosquitoes and flies or applied directly in powder form to control lice and ticks. It was considered the "atomic bomb" of pesticides, as it benefited public...