Shark DDT claims beyond plausibility
I refer to the sensational headline "DDT found in great whites" by Tanya Farber in The Times.It is pure sensationalism at its best to suggest that the DDT applied in South Africa's anti-malaria programme is responsible for the DDT found in great white sharks.If Tanya understood how the DDT is applied in the Department of Health's malaria control programme, she would realise that it is almost impossible for any of that DDT to reach the sea.In addition, there is no indication of what "high levels of DDT" are. It has not been proved to be carcinogenic in humans. It was banned because of being persistent and it accumulates. There is no record of it being responsible for a human death when used as recommended.The fact that DDT has been found in this species illustrates the stability of DDT. The source in this shark is other than the programme...
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