Dichloro Diphenyl Trichloroethane-DDT Chronicle

1873 – DDT synthesized by a German chemist Othmar Zeidler for no purpose

1939 – Insecticide properties of DDT discovered by Paul Müller.

1944 – DDT was first introduced in India in 1944 by the British and American armies in Orissa and
Karnataka.

1947 – In 13 southern states, over 4,650,000 houses were sprayed with DDT

1948 – Paul Müller awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine.

1949 – Malaria eradicated from Italy.

1951 – Malaria eradicated from the U.S.

1953 – The Government of India (GOI) launched the National Malaria Control Programme, with indoor
residual spraying (IRS) of DDT

1955 – The World Health Organization (WHO) makes plan to eradicate malaria worldwide.

1961 – DDT use reaches its peak. It was registered for use on 334 agricultural products.

1962 – Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring blamed environmental destruction on DDT.

1969 – Residues of DDT and its metabolites (such as DDE) found worldwide.

1970 – WHO announces that malaria has been eradicated in 37 countries

1972 – EPA bans DDT in the U.S.

1976 – WHO gives up malaria eradication programme

1989 – India Banned DDT for agricultural use

1998 – POPs Treaty proposes banning DDT.

2001 – POPS Treaty grants a temporary health-related exemption for use of DDT for malaria. Stockholm
Convention came into force in 2004

2006 – WHO approved DDT use for vector control till safer alternatives are developed